The Good, The Bad And The LaGuardia: Modern Airport Design

New York City’s LaGuardia Airport  to be torn down and rebuilt. We’ll consider what makes a great airport now, and how the US  stacks up to the global competition.

American airports are hardly the world’s finest any more. Last year, Joe Biden said walking into New York’s battered old LaGuardia airport was like walking into a Third World country. Yesterday, Biden was on hand when New York announced it will rebuild LaGuardia. A big makeover. So what makes a great airport these days? For smooth functioning on-time flights, security, check-in, get out. For amenities to sooth and delight. This hour On Point: What makes a great airport now.  The good, the bad and the ugly of American airports. And the best of the international competition.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Emily Ngo, politics and government reporter for Newsday. (@epngo)

Seth Young, director of the Ohio State University's Center for Aviation Studies, where he is also an associate professor in the department of civil, environmental and geodetic design. (@sethbyoung)

Ty Osbaugh, architect and director of aviation and transportation at Gensler, a global design firm.

Tyler Brûlé, editor-in-chief and founder of Monocle magazine.

Newsday: Cuomo announces $4 billion LaGuardia Airport transformation — "A planned $4 billion transformation will lift LaGuardia Airport into the 21st century, leaving behind the delay-plagued, aesthetically outdated facility that has been ranked among the worst in the world, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday. Under the proposal, the Queens airport — compared last year by Vice President Joe Biden to a 'Third World country' — will feature a unified terminal by rebuilding one of the three existing terminals and linking it to the others, Cuomo told the pro-business Association for a Better New York."

WIRED: 9 Stunning Next-Gen Airport Designs Cleared for Takeoff -- "Few of us will have the chance to visit an office designed by a world-class architect; an even smaller group will enjoy the luxury of living in a home designed by one. But for the price of a coach ticket, we can visit amazing spaces crafted by top designers, and enjoy their work while eating a slightly stale Cinnabon. Airports, especially those in big cities, expose an architect's work to millions of people every year and are highly sought-after assignments. New projects are awarded through competitions that can span years; once granted, they may take decades to be fully completed."

Financial Times: Britain must not cut corners on airports — "The biggest aviation hub of a little country not far from the UK is a three-runway affair with multiple terminals, scores of rail and tram connections, shopping for locals as well as travellers, and plenty of construction under way to improve the overall experience. Recognised as one of Europe’s first integrated transport hubs (air, rail and road all interlinked), Zürich airport is also a point of national pride for the Swiss."