Incheon Wins ‘Best Airport’ for Third Consecutive Year

Fentress Architects’ design facilitated Korean airport’s success

Results of nearly 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers named Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea, the “Best Airport Worldwide” for the third year in a row.

Photo courtesy of Fentress Architects

Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea, became the first airport in history to earn “Best Airport Worldwide” honors for three consecutive years from the Airport Council International’s Airport Service Quality Award Program.

Designed by Denver’s Fentress Architects, the 5.9 million-sq-ft airport was also named the 2007 “Best Airport Worldwide” by the Official Airline Guide.

“Our design for Incheon’s passenger terminal created a timeless, iconic and highly functional building to provide a refined passenger experience. Incheon has complemented this design with a superior operations staff to produce the world’s finest airport,” said Curtis W. Fentress, principal-in-charge of design at Denver’s Fentress Architects

The Airport Council International’s ASQ rankings are based on results from nearly 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers in 2007. This survey captures the passengers’ immediate evaluation of 34 airport service factors, from check-in to gate departure.

Rejecting the cold, high-tech, homogenized feel common to many modern airports, the architects for Incheon’s passenger terminal sought to affirm feelings of warmth and welcome for the 31.5-million passengers arriving annually. The design finds overt and subtle ways to create a memorable gateway to the region with the rich heritage of Korean culture.

The passenger terminal’s welcoming arc embraces arriving patrons. Masts and a catenary roof support system emulate the large anchored ships docked in the nearby Incheon Harbor. The gentle arc of ancient Korean temples can be seen in the terminal’s sweeping rooflines. The roof’s clerestories and skylights provide enough daylight to allow cultivation of traditional Korean gardens, which lend the space a peaceful and inviting feel.

In the last 28 years, Fentress Architects has designed moe than 42 million sq ft and $9-billion worth of airport space. Currently, Fentress is working on the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport modernizations and expansion to Terminal ‘A’ and new Terminal ‘B’; the Sacramento International Airport Terminal ‘B’ Modernization and Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s new Terminal 2 and redevelopment of Terminal ‘A.’

The firm’s portfolio includes Denver International Airport’s Passenger Terminal, called “America’s Best-Run Airport” by Time magazine and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Central Terminal Redevelopment, described by The Wall Street Journal as “A Trip to the Airport that’s Fun Really.”

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