Wide-angle view of the interior of the new Trans World Flight Center at New York International Airport shows the dramatic spaciousness of its vaulted, pillarless interior. Easy stairways lead from the check-in area to the main concourse, center, then to upper level, where a slender bridge links restaurant and lounge areas. Pristine white interior is broken only by red carpeting and upholstered seats.

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The central structure of the new Trans World Flight Center at New York International Airport is a vast sculpture in concrete, with a form suggesting a huge bird in flight. Its four interacting vaults are separated by bands of glass skylighting and supported by four buttresses. At the right is the low ground level arrival arm with a sheltering 12-foot cantilevered canopy.

Trans World Airlines Photo

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"All the parts of the building -- from stair-railings to the shape of signs -- were studied like parts of a giant, unified piece of sculpture and were actually designed within a one-inch scale cardboard model (so big that the draftsmen could climb into it) with the hope that every part of the building would belong to 'one family of forms.' "

Thus does Mrs. Eero Saarinen, widow of the famed architect who designed the Trans World Flight Center at New York International Airport, describe how it took shape. This photograph, taken by Baltazar Korab, of Birmingham, Michigan, shows Saarinen with the scale model mentioned above.

Trans World Airlines Photo

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Artist's drawing of the interior of the new Trans World Flight Center shows the dramatic spaciousness of its vaulted, sky-lit interior. Proceeding from the check-in area, passengers go up to the main concourse. Directly ahead, center, is the sunken, semi-circular waiting area with a spectacular view of the airfield. Easy stairways lead to the upper level, with restaurant and lounge areas linked by a slender bridge.

Trans World Airlines Photo

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