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It feels spacious, natural, functional, and hospitable.
Certainly less miserable to look at inside than it was 20 years ago. Much better than the brutalist hell that is most of Portland.
Brutalist hell? It’s a vibrant city interlocked with greenery and flanked by Mt Hood
(The international part anyway - the domestic terminal is plainer.)
It looks incredible and I'll take the first chance I get to go check it out, but the cynic in me bets that the international arrivals/layover/security check area is still just as dull and depressing as any other in the states. 2 people barely churning through a line of 150 stressed travellers that need to get to their next gate in 45 mins. I'd consider paying a fair bit more if I have it next time to not transit thro…
I gather than there are so few international arrivals that it will likely never be upgraded, but I sure would love to see the fancy face scanning electronic passport reader kiosks like other places have. And in a place that is reachable in the main terminal, without the shuttle bus experience.
It looks incredible and I'll take the first chance I get to go check it out, but the cynic in me bets that the international arrivals/layover/security check area is still just as dull and depressing as any other in the states. 2 people barely churning through a line of 150 stressed travellers that need to get to their next gate in 45 mins. I'd consider paying a fair bit more if I have it next time to not transit thro…
I can't speak to international arrivals (though I can to the rest of the airport, it's gorgeous), but while PDX is international it only has 5 direct international flights other than Canada. Hardly going to be the focus of the airport.
Highly recommend Screen Door for southern breakfast when stopping through.
I wish we had more pretty architecture like this in the U.S. Our architecture is so utilitarian/corporate and built at the lowest price and just enough to meet building codes. I get why it is the way it is, but I can still wish.
There's a common modern look called a 5-over-1 which usually looks like a giant box made out of four different colored Lego sets. The random different colors are forced on them by planners who think it provides "articulation".
The giant box look is because of double-stair requirements, which the US thinks provides fire safety but don't, and which force all big residential builds to be hotel-shaped. The PNW actually doesn't have these rules, although the rest of the country hasn't noticed yet.
https://springvalleycorp.ca/index.php/td-place-stadium/
Is similarly curved, has exposed yellow wood, with the same spacious layering construction.
Our largest airport (AKL) is in the process of rebuilding both domestic and international terminals. They are trying for a timber ceiling [1] with rubber floors [1]. It seems a confused design.
> A ‘cost-effective’' mix of durable carpeted and rubber flooring was being used inside and tray profile steel on the exterior. [0]
It can't be any worse than our current airport.
[1] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/airlines/first...
I might end up visiting Portland just to see the airport.
It really is a pleasant place to be. There is a free theater with ~16 seats that shows 5-minute film shorts. And famously, any restaurant that has a brick and mortar in town can't charge prices higher in the airport. I've often thought it wouldn't be a terrible place to take a date, at least in the pre 9/11 security days when you could access the whole terminal.
You obviously still have to go through security, but a ticket isn't required.