Concourse D elevates the passenger experience by offering regional travelers the efficiency, comfort, and design quality expected at primary terminals. Spartan satellite buildings, time-consuming jitney rides, and walks across the open apron are eliminated. The project's straightforward design, referencing the aesthetics of aviation and Cleveland's industrial heritage, offers flexibility and economy while providing a sophisticated new gateway to the city and region. Throughout the project, visual cues of form, material, scale, and volume distinguish the uses and sequence of spaces to orient the rushing traveler. Circulation cones, terrazzo flooring, yellow glass lanterns, artwork, gate and escalator openings, compression and expansion of height all assist wayfinding.
Natural light is emphasized.
The stepped ceiling trays, the angled curtainwall, and a clerestory bounce sunlight and control glare, creating shadow definition and restful spaciousness. Specially commissioned contemporary art projects created by Ohioans animate the moving walks in the pedestrian tunnel and float high in the escalator halls . It is the layering of past and present stylizations to create visual character and psychological response. This straightforward and flexible design is informed by an aesthetic of aviation, bridges, factories, lofts, and machines, transformed into a technologically forward-looking composition. This is a meaningful contribution to the exceptional collection of new air terminals nationwide.