JetBlue Announces Plans for New Facility at JFK

JetBlue recently unveiled its final plans for a new Kennedy Airport facility to be situated behind the landmarked Eero Saarinen TWA terminal, a structure near and dear to the hearts of art and architecture insiders and the public alike. JetBlue's scheme has been praised asefficient and practical, but also assailed as a characterless, boxy design all too appropriate for a low-cost, no-frills operation. The $875-million, 635,000-square-foot building will contain 26 gates servicing up to 250 flights a day. The new building is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Designed by the corporate architectural firm Gensler, the terminalfeatures a low-ceilinged ticketing hall, a money-saving, if oppressive, design that is also intended to keep the new building from competing with the Saarinen terminal. Once travelers pass through security they will enter the "great room," a shopping and dining hall, before continuing on to the gates. To create the great room's interior, JetBlue hired designer David Rockwell, known for his work on the W Hotels, Broadway shows, casinos and upscale restaurants. His plan calls forplacing stairs and a raised platform in the space for people-watching and suspending from cables a large circular screen that will display flight information.

While the Saarinen terminal was saved from destruction, its fate is still not clear. It will be linked to the new JetBlue terminal, andwill contain some ticketing, providing a touch of nostalgia for travelers who pass through the familiar tubular hallways. But the building will also be nearly encircled by a two-level roadway allowing direct access to the new terminal, potentially stranding the Saarinen in asea of notorious JFK traffic.

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