Let’s face it, London Heathrow airport is currently a rather lamentable destination. What should function as a slick portal for global travel is in reality a rundown, herding facility where little seems to work, from the ever-striking staff right down to the vending machines. It’s not a nice place to be stranded for 20 hours, as seems to happen with alarming frequency. The only notable exception to this rule is Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class Wing in Terminal 3, which we duly awarded Fastest Airport Check-in in our recent Wallpaper* Design Awards.
Click here to see the artworks and read more about the artists
Elsewhere we have high hopes for Richard Rogers’ Terminal 5 building, set to open at the end of March. A sneak preview reveals a refreshing amount of attention to the travellers’ experience whilst in the terminal. This is a clever move given the airport, renowned for delays, will be coping with considerably more traffic and no extra runways when the terminal opens.
British Airways, with a helping hand from curators Artwise, have commissioned 7 new site-specific artworks by four emerging British-based artists. Troika, El Ultimo Grito, Christopher Pearson, and Oona Culley are the artists in question; each are quietly renowned for the pioneering use of technology in their work, so make a comfortable fit with BA’s ethos of being at the frontier of national, cultural promotion. All the T5 lounges will be named ‘Galleries’ in homage to the installations.
Watch a video of Troika's 'Cloud' installation above and Christopher Pearson's 'Willow Boughs' here.
INFORMATION
Heathrow Terminal 5 is due to open on March 27th, 2008
Bookmark -