FENG SHUI APPLIED
TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND AIRPORTS
The secret to
applying feng shui to the design of any public
building is to decide how you would like people
to feel in each part of the building and then
design in the kind of atmosphere to encourage
the people using that space to feel teh way
you intended.
For me there are
a few essential design aids
1 Make sure the
building has a feature that becomes a talking
point around the world. This gets the building
free publicity and makes it more of an attraction.
2 Think of the
process of moving through a large building
such as an airport as a story. From kerbside
to airside it needs an exciting beginning,
interesting middle and satisfying ending.
Similarly arriving passengers should be treated
to the same kind of journey.
3 Match the atmosphere
of each part of the buidling with the way
you would like people to feel by using colours,
materials and form.
To demonstrate
this I will use the example of an airport.
DEPARTING PASSENGERS
Entering an airport
terminal marks the beginning of you journey
and here the atmosphere of the airport can
reflect some the excitement and anticipation
of what lies ahead. Many modern airports capture
this with high ceilings, hard surfaces, bright
lights and large open spaces.
All this encourages
faster chi flow with the result that peoples
own emotional energy picks up. In feng shui
terms the energy of the space becomes more
yang with the result that people also become
more yang emotionally.
Check in desks
are places where passengers will make their
first connection with a representative of
the airline they are to fly with. Here the
emphasis should be on making this interaction
as positive as possible.
Sometimes the
check in desk actually works against this
by being too high and imposing. To make it
easier to interact the counter should be as
inconspicuous as possible and if practical
allow for some communication through body
language. Reflective materials and hard edges
contribute to the feeling that there is barrier
between the staff and their passengers.
Colourful, bright,
busy retail areas often accentuate the up,
yang feeling and can help maintain a feeling
of exhilaration. This works well when everything
works smoothly but is not a relaxing environment
if passengers are subjected to delays. In
this situation a more yin, peaceful atmosphere
would make it easier to relax and be patient.
Large airports
have the problem of getting people to their
boarding gates. Here from a feng shui perspective
the situation is made worse by asking passengers
to walk along long monotonous corridors. This
actually makes the walk seem longer than it
really is.
Here it is helpful
to consider the different senses - touch,
sound, visual, smell and taste - to see how
a variety of sensual experiences can be created
to make the journey more varied and interesting.
For example different textures of floor covering
change the touch sensation underfoot, different
colours and imagery create a visual distraction,
walking through areas playing different genres
of music would be stimulating
All these examples
combine to make the passenger feel he or she
is making greater progress. Signage can also
be employed to inform passengers on how far
they are from their gate.
Departure lounges
are commonly laid out as long straight lines
of seating making it harder for families and
groups to communicate. This is the place passengers
want to unwind and relax before their flight.
The linear structured layout makes the atmosphere
of the room more yang and less relaxing.
Here a variety
of seating options would make for a space
where the passenger can find the seating that
suits him or her best and make the area a
better space to wait and relax. This could
include breakfast style bars and stools, individual
chairs, low seats and benches.
ARRIVING PASSENGERS
In my opinion
the greatest lost opportunity to make an impression
is when leaving the aircraft and walking through
the arrivals process. Immigration, baggage
claim and customs areas are often the least
inspiring parts of any airport and yet are
the travellers first introduction a new city
and possibly new country.
It is rare to
find anything that really signs the passenger
to where they are. The criticism that arriving
at one airport is like another and that globalisation
has washed away cultural differences has made
air travel less exciting and once the stimulus
is taken away mundane corridors, bland immigrations
posts, industrial style baggage claim halls
and empty white customs room combine to make
the passengers first experience of the terminal
underwhelming and flat.
In these situation
when things go wrong, lost baggage or delays,
the customers response will be less forgiving.
From a feng shui perspective the journey from
airside to kerbside should be one that includes
feelings of inspiration, excitement, interest,
anticipation, enthusiasm and a sense of arrival.
For some it is
a sense of coming home, for others a sense
of beginning a new adventure. Following this
emotional process the corridors could suggest
the excitement to come so that arriving in
the immigration hall is a cultural explosion
of visual stimuli. Here expanding into a large
high vaulted space would encourage passengers
energy field to expand providing relief after
being cramped in the confines of the aircraft
and corridors.
Baggage claim
halls can be a low point in the terminal experience.
As people may be obliged to spend twenty minutes
here why not make it pleasurable experience.
Often these spaces have low ceilings and with
people crowding around the belts becomes a
cramped stressful experience. When people
are exposed to compressed, intense chi they
perceive it as stress and feel uncomfortable.
Creating more entertaining area here where
passengers can relax, have a drink, read the
local newspapers, change money, get information,
plan routes whilst they wait to be called
for their baggage would make it easier for
passengers to enjoy more positive emotions.
Natural light
and views of the outside improve the atmosphere
of these spaces and makes the overall feel
more welcoming. Being able to see the process
of baggage karts arriving from the aircraft
and being loaded onto belts can also be reassuring
as well as an interesting distraction for
waiting passengers. Being able to see from
the baggage hall to the arrivals hall means
meeters and greeters and arriving passengers
can make visual contact with each other. This
takes some of the anxiety out of making the
connection with people and opens up the atmosphere
of the baggage hall making it feel less confined.
CREATING A LANDMARK
All public buildings
need something special, the unusual feature
that becomes a talking point, a focal point
that makes the building memorable. In feng
shui natural elements would be used to make
this impression. Water features, flags in
the wind, colourful banners, plants, works
of art, blocks of colour are all part of the
palette for making buildings special.
SIMON BROWN'S
AIRPORT EXPERIENCE
Simon's work with
airport terminals includes Turino Airport
and Airports throughout the Cape Verde islands,
Tocumen Airport. He is currently working on
projects for the Marco Polo airport Venice
and Charles De Gaulle Paris. Simon Brown has
given presentations at the Passenger Terminal
Expo 2005 Koln-Messe and Paris Passenger Terminal
Expo 2006.
For more information
on Simon's feng shui airport work visist Airports
Development Team International
Back
to the Top