John F. Kennedy International Airport, Terminal 4 (1993-2001)
Childs used lessons from the Dulles redevelopment when he designed a new 1.5 million square-foot building to replace one of JFK's 50-year-old terminals, which SOM had designed and which had become too small. His other goal was to return "comfort and clarity" to air travel, so his design attempts to give passengers a better sense of orientation by replacing the traditional maze of checkpoints and passageways with a cavernous glass and steel structure that allows them to see through the building, past ticket counters and security gates, to the runways and airplanes. Much like Saarinen's design for Dulles, the roof of the departure hall resembles an aircraft wing, and the open, column-free buiding allows for future expansion.

© Jeff Goldberg/ Esto. Reproduced with the permission of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.