esar Pelli, a world-renownedarchitect, designed RonaldReagan Washington NationalAirport’s new Terminal B/C.

This substantial addition to the venera-ble 1940 and 1958 terminals is wherethe majority of airline operations nowtake place. Other major Pelli projectsinclude Malaysia’s Petronas Towers,currently the world’s tallest structures,and Loeb Art Museum, at Vassar College, New York.

When asked about his designapproach for the complex National Air-port project, Pelli said, “We presentedthree concepts and took ideas from allthree to combine them into a fourth one.We designed it in model form. This waywe were able to study three-dimensionalimplications, including light.”

Successful airport design requiresintegrating layers of complex systemsinto a functionally unified solution. Inthis project, for example, the architectcombined three different transportationmodes. The new airport successfullyconnects terminals, a subway station,and private vehicular elements includingparking lots and vehicle drop-off points.

Inside a major regional airport, theobjective is to accommodate passen-gers at all stages of travel, whetherthey are leaving or arriving. For exam-ple, Pelli tried to make all verticaltransportation elements easy to find.

Pelli says, “The idea is not to look at itas providing convenience. It is makingit convenient to use.”

The new terminal design was complet-ed at about the same time the AmericansWith Disabilities Act (ADA) and the AirCarrier Access Act (ACAA) were enact-ed. At that time, most architects anddesigners were still learning about acces-sible design. Before ADA, airport designwas subject to Section 504 of the Reha-

bilitation Act (1973). These require-ments were generic in nature and notwidely enforced. ACAA specificallyaddressed specialized airport facilitiessuch as ticket counters. ADA focused onairport public accommodations, includ-ing path of travel, rest rooms, and retailfacilities. It also brought national atten-tion to accessibility.

Pelli says his firm has always takenaccessibility very seriously. In practically

PN/Paraplegia News April 2003 43

by Carol Peredo Lopez, A.I.A.photos by Bill Fitz-Patrick

As seen in Paraplegia News magazine, April 2003..

C

Daniel Feil (left), Airports Authority staff architect, gave PVA staff a tour of the facility.

Reagan Washington National Airport’s new terminal is designed for accessibility, not just complying with codes.

every public building project they design,Pelli’s architects meet with disabilitygroups to discuss accessibility issues.

“Everyone in our firm is aware thatthe more we talk with users, the betterwe understand what we can do,” Pelliexplains. “We design from the begin-ning with the intention of making itaccessible. It is not a question of com-plying with codes.”

The task of designing a large, com-plex project demands that every detailbe resolved in an organized manner.For example, a domed ceiling moduleis an important design element in theairport terminal. The 45-foot x 45-footdomes fill the interior with natural lightfrom an “oculus” in a manner similar to

the Pantheon’s dome in ancient Rome.Light from these modules provides aninterior space evenly lit with refracteddaylight. The repetitive modular domepattern also organizes the space struc-turally, supplying order and clarity tothe terminal’s large, complex interior.

WAYFINDINGArchitects use circulation diagrams as adesign aid to analyze how peoplewould navigate through a large facility.“Wayfinding” is a more detailed circu-lation technique using visual clues tohelp guide patrons through a building.For example, to improve wayfinding forpatrons with visual impairments, thenew terminal has dark floors that con-trast with the light-colored walls. Direc-tional wayfinding information can alsobe provided through signage, but moresuccessful projects also accomplish thisthrough clarity of space and a systemat-ic organization of functions.

Airport environments are saturatedwith visual information regardingwayfinding, flight scheduling, and evencommercial advertising. In Washington’snew terminal, different types of visualinformation are carefully formatted forclarity and function. Signage for retail

44 April 2003 PN/Paraplegia News

Ticket counters have flip-open panels, providing a lowered writing surface for wheelers.

Every public phone bank has at least one accessible phone.

facilities, for example, is presented dif-ferently from passenger information. Toassist people with visual impairments,cassette tapes with descriptive informa-tion are available at information booths.

All new terminal entrances and drop-off areas are wheelchair accessible.Within the airport terminal, verticalmovement is convenient because of amultitude of circulation systems. Thelevels within the terminal are carefullyorganized for efficiency and passengerconvenience. Passengers, for example,can be dropped off at the third leveland proceed directly to the check-incounters. The second level connects topublic parking, the subway, and theoriginal terminals. Therefore, passen-gers need not cross vehicular traffic toreach their parked cars or the subwaystation. The lower level includes bag-gage claim and passenger pickup.

The new terminal also includes fea-tures specifically for travelers with dis-abilities. Ticket-counter panels flip opento provide a lowered writing surface forwheelchair users. Attendant-care toiletfacilities are located in each terminalarea. Although most travelers now carrycellular phones, public and helplinephones are conveniently locatedthroughout. Every phone bank has anaccessible phone. If a site has only one phone, it is fully accessible.

SERVICES AND FACILITIESOther accessible features include the following:

➧ Public telephones. A Telecommunica-tion Device for the Deaf (TDD) phoneand at least one wheelchair-accessibletelephone are located at every publicphone bank. All telephones are equippedwith volume control, are hearing-aidcompatible, and have braille and raisednumbers. At least one telephone in eachbank is equipped with a shelf and outlet.

➧ Public address and information sys-tems. A visual paging system and anaudible public-address system broad-cast airport information to the general

public. Within the waiting areas, visualannouncements of boarding informationappear on monitors. Flight informationdisplay system boards and baggageinformation display system units arelocated throughout the terminal.

➧ Accessible counters. Every ticket-counter location has built-in, pull-down writing shelves to assist patronsusing wheelchairs. Each position isequipped with a TDD outlet, and aTDD phone is available for use at

the ticket counter upon request.

➧ Passenger pickup. Dedicated parkingareas for pick up of arriving passengerswith disabilities are located curbside at the baggage-claim level. Public telephones are located on the curbside, and each phone is equipped with TDD.

➧ Wheelchairs. Arrangements for awheelchair in any of the terminals canbe made through the airlines or withany skycap at the airport.

PN/Paraplegia News April 2003 45

Public information system monitors are low enough to allow wheelchair users to easilytrack arrival, departure, and gate information.

➧ Elevators. Elevators are equipped withraised braille buttons and are fully acces-sible to wheelchair users. An electronicvoice announces the arrival at each floor.

➧ Parking. Parking garages are directlyacross from the terminal and provideparking spaces for individuals with dis-abilities. The garages are van accessi-ble. Baggage carts are available near allgarage elevators. Two elevated, cov-ered, and environmentally controlledpedestrian bridges provide direct accessfrom the parking garages into the Con-course level of the new airport terminal.In the remote lots, spaces are locatednext to each airport shuttle-bus shelter.

➧ Ground transportation. New vehiclesin the airport’s shuttle-bus fleet havewheelchair lifts. Patrons with physicaldisabilities may park in parking lots orgarages and use a specially equippedcourtesy van at no charge. Vans are also

available for use between all airport loca-tions, upon request. In parking lots,booth attendants will arrange for thistransportation upon request. Parkinggarages have information pylons contain-ing intercoms that may be used torequest assistance. An intercom is avail-able at the subway elevator.

➧ Subway. Passengers arriving at the airport via subway may take thesubway station’s elevator down onelevel and proceed through a coveredwalkway to a climate-controlledpedestrian bridge. Baggage carts areavailable upon exiting the subwaysystem. For more details, look for the Visitor’s Guide for Patrons withDisabilities, available at all airportinformation counters.

During construction, Airports Author-ity representatives met with a numberof disability groups, including the Para-

lyzed Veterans of America (PVA), todiscuss the new terminal’s accessibilityissues. Recently, PVA architects andadvocacy staff met with AirportsAuthority architect Daniel J. Feil,F.A.I.A., to tour the facility.

Feil indicated that airport managementcontinues to improve passenger-serviceaccessibility. For example, they are currently working on digital boards todescribe recent passenger regulations. For instance, new airport security meas-ures require that no passenger stand up inan airplane during the first or last 30 min-utes of flight when departing from orarriving at Reagan Washington NationalAirport. Previously, this was onlyannounced audibly. People with hearingimpairments couldn’t hear theseannouncements and, in some instances,stood up in the plane. The airport is work-ing to correct this situation and to provideprinted messages in the LED-type mes-sage boards throughout the terminal.

Airport accessibility is a design chal-lenge because of the long travel dis-tances, the interface between transporta-tion modalities, and the constantlychanging sensory information. It takes aclear design vision and meticulousattention to detail to make a functionaland attractive architectural environment.In his impressive design for ReaganWashington National Airport’s new ter-minal, Pelli has achieved this goal and anew level of passenger accessibility.

46 April 2003 PN/Paraplegia News

Baggage carousels are low and flat, facilitating luggage retrieval from a wheelchair.

Barrier-Free America AwardEvery year, PVA honors an individual for outstanding contributions toward a barrier-free environment. Bob Vila was the previous recipient of the Barrier-Free AmericaAward for his ongoing efforts to increase public awareness of accessible homedesign. Cesar Pelli, F.A.I.A., is PVA’s 2003 award recipient for the accessible archi-tecture of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (The award is pictured left.)

Pelli’s work runs the gamut from residential to large commercial projects, including thetallest buildings in the world, the 1,483-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia. In 1977, he

became dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University and established Cesar Pelli & Associates in New Haven,Conn. Pelli’s work has been widely published and exhibited, with eight books dedicated to his design and theories.

In 1995, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded Pelli its gold medal. In 1991, AIA selected him as one ofthe ten most influential living American architects. In 1989, AIA awarded Cesar Pelli & Associates its ArchitectureFirm Award. Pelli has received more than 100 awards for design excellence.

Carol Peredo Lopez is PVA NationalArchitecture director, at the organiza-tion’s headquarters in Washington,D.C. The author expresses apprecia-tion to Daniel H. Feil, F.A.I.A., of theMetropolitan Washington AirportsAuthority, for his assistance in prepar-ing this article.

■Cesar Pelli, FAIA