I approach airports with the same mentality as shopping at IKEA: in and out, as fast as humanly possible, with the least amount of damage to my psyche. San Francisco International Airport's new Terminal 2 is an exception. I actually arrived an hour earlier than necessary for my return flight east to explore and (gasp!) enjoy.
Just opened in mid-April, the new T2 was designed by Gensler to create an "easy and memorable experience" for travelers. Here are some of the highlights:
Art. There is art everywhere at T2. From entrance to gate, there are large scale installations, rotating gallery exhibits, murals. It gives you something to look at while receiving that full-body scan.
Food. There's nothing worse than getting stuck at the gate with no access to decent coffee (or fresh fruit, a strong cocktail, a tasty sandwich, etc). With celebrity chef restaurant Cat Cora, a full wine bar, Peet's Coffee & Tea and even a Pinkberry, T2 has all of the bases covered.
Shopping. Sure, there's the tchotchke shop and the newsstand, but there's also actual clothing stores, a spa, a full wine shop and gourmet food store. It feels like an upscale mall.
Varied seating. There are comfortable benches right after security so you can put your shoes on with dignity. There's central food court seating so you don't have to balance a salad on your lap. At the gates, there are clusters of egg chairs around low round tables so you can have a conversation with your travel companions (or meet some new ones). Even those rows of standard airport seating are abundant and comfortable.
Connectability. Though it's nice that more airports are adding those towered plug-in stations, they are always taken before I get a spot. At T2, there are outlets every few seats at the gates, as well as raised workstations with plugs at each chair. You also get 45 minutes of free WiFi.
Airports are something we pass through on our way to somewhere else, but that doesn't mean that they can't be beautiful or thoughtfully designed. I'm thrilled that the people behind T2 agree-- It made my time in San Francisco all the more pleasant.
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When I first flew into SFO They had a giant shoe exhibit. There was a 6 foot tall high heel pink puffy shoe near the exit. This is probably the only airport that could pull it off, maybe the Eero Saarinen T5 @JFK could. I knew I had arrived at the right airport.
I was just there this past weekend! Considering I was flying in and out of LAX, the comparison from SFO terminal 2 to LAX was night and day. It really is a beautiful terminal.
I was there last weekend too, taking advantage of Virgin's new service from Chicago to SFO. Probably my second favorite airport now, after Hong Kong. Loved the chairs, the Napa Market, the Mango, the Pinkberry, the workstations, everything except the wall mural of birds that also functioned as a xylophone. Whoever decided to install something for kids to play with that makes a lot of noise at the airport has a sick sense of humor...
went through there a week or so ago. must have been in my own little world. i didn't notice anything about the terminal until i got to the gate and saw the Egg Chairs. they looked fantastic in that context, but they were all taken. i did manage to snag a Swan Chair. good design is wonderful thing.
can we have the samething at JFK??
am I the only person who thinks art in airports is kind of ridiculous? it probably mainly stems from one particular piece of "art" at Seatac that I have spent several years hating, that is just a normal water fountain which the artist has put speakers on so that when you use it, it makes a loud, unpleasant "glug glug glug glug" sound. It is utterly awful, and the fact that anyone spent any amount of money that piece of garbage is baffling. I don't want my airport experience to be based on aesthetic: I want some ok food, some power outlets, and a place to rest during layovers. Extra shops I can sort of see, because while I think they are fairly dumb, at least they are making money and come in handy when I realize I forgot to get someone a gift. and I guess if the art is donated, that is one thing. I just draw the line at wasting money on that kind of totally useless stuff in the context of an airport.
Hummm...are those stylized jockey shorts?
I wondered about how new this was! I just flew out of SFO two weekends ago and got to enjoy that red chair showcased.
I didn't realize they just opened this terminal but it did feel incredible new. A lot of thought was put into the layout and as someone who travels a lot for pleasure and business, was well noted. 'cause seriously that red chair was comfy. felt very Tim Burton though.
I've flown in and out of T2 a few times since it opened - I love the Saarinen Egg chairs at the Virgin America gates and the free WiFi!
Idunno, Maybe I'm just hard to please. I kinda found the new T2 terminal to be kinda dull. I was there on the day it opened to catch a Virgin America flight from SFO to LAX. I would have thought with all the hype and Virgin America being the primary airline that uses that terminal the most, that there would be mood lighting and swank lounging areas... not so much. With the exception of the Arne Jacobsen egg chairs, it just felt like any other bland airport terminal. I find this to be the case with a lot of Gensler designed interiors, lots of hype but falls flat in reality.
Holler, I totally agree. There is a really great Noguchi sculpture in the Delta terminal at SFO. It's pushed up against a column and encased in plexiglass. I'm sure most people have no idea it's there or even what it is. I think the only art that really gets appreciated at SFO is the Ned Kahn entry wind sculpture you see as you exit/enter the BART station and his interactive tornado sculpture in the kid zone in the United terminal.
I think if the art provides some insight into the city the airport is part of, it is a nice thing.
The Vancouver airport YVR has some nice totem poles and the Bill Reid jade sculpture that I think is beautiful. It really represents Vancouver well.
Holler, when I was traveling constantly for business, I floved airport art. It was a source of smiles (or sometimes shrugs) in an otherwise stressful and exhausting experience, and occasionally I learned something.
On the whole, I'd rather be in an art museum than an airport, so I will not complain when the airport brings the art to me.
In Phoenix, we have a similar looking net-thing in the Civic Space Park... I wonder if the artist is the same?
Am I missing something? Maybe the photos are just not great, but it looks like any old airport terminal.
I was in ATL airport in Feb and noticed that they had a lot of local artists featured prominently within every gate area. I had a couple hours to kill between flts so I walked around and enjoyed the experience. I'm not always crazy about what I see (um, those nets at SFO for example are not my cup o' tea) but I like that they are trying something new.
Huge fan of SFO T2. I think it's the nicest domestic terminal I've seen. Love the ample (comfy and stylish) seating, plenty of outlets, and great food options for every palate and price point, and the vast amount of natural light. I usually fly American, and it's a great trade-up from the old gates at SFO T3.