Calgary International Airport II

[outoftheice]

Having attended the Calgary Stampede yesterday I have to say that I really hope people from the Airport Authority did the same and took a good, long look at the 'Western Oasis' space at the BMO Centre.

We've discussed in the past about how part of the failure of the call go gate system at YYC was partially due to the fact that the main seating areas in the new terminal had very little 'sense of place' that made them the natural spot people would want to relax and wait for their flight. (The international departure hall suffers from this much worse than the US departure hall). I would argue that the Airport Authority did a much better job creating a sense of place with Banff Hall by the food court, pre-security, with its comfortable lounge chairs and the waterfall and fountain art features than they did with the new terminal seating areas.

What I was absolutely impressed by with the 'Western Oasis' in BMO was how the Calgary Stampede was able to create amazing areas in the SW, NW and NE corners with water and lighting features, public art, stone work and trees and plants. This was all done as a temporary installation in what is essentially a big empty hall with a concrete floor. It made me realize what the Airport Authority could achieve without the need for expensive renovations to the building's structure. Personally I think the addition of water and lighting features surrounded by stone work and some additional vegetation (fake as it may be) would do wonders to changing the vibe in the seating halls and make people much more likely to want to spend time there and the Western Oasis is proof that it can be done relatively easily.