Aviation

As aviation designers, we integrate the diverse needs of passengers, tenants, employees, and owners into resilient airport facilities that bring surprise and delight through experience-focused, award-winning aviation design.
Airports are shifting focus from business travelers to a new prototype passenger who is seeking a calmer, more comfortable, and personalized experience.
—Ty Osbaugh, Aviation leader
INSIGHTS

Airports generate and manage their own clean power.

Sustainable aviation fuels, electrified ground fleets, and future hybrid aircraft push energy demand up, making on-site solar and batteries a resilience play as much as a climate goal. Where utility rules allow, terminals become energy assets; where they don’t, designs still plan for higher loads and smarter storage.

 

AI, biometrics, and digital twins transform travel.

Airports use advanced technologies to enhance security, monitor flows, personalize the passenger journey, and optimize operations. This includes AI-driven efficiency at airports, such as streamlining curbside pickup and tracking passenger movements, as well as digital twins for improved planning and maintenance.

 

Leisure travel sets the brief for airport innovations.

Longer dwell times shift concourses toward “lounge for all” comfort, while the top end gets even more luxurious with chef-driven dining and premium services. Outdoor terraces, quiet-airport acoustics, and neurodivergent-friendly rooms turn stress into calm — and calm passengers stay, spend, and come back for more.

 

Built-in flexibility allows terminals to adapt to surges, seasons, and changing needs.

Modular layouts, perimeter buffer space, and convertible indoor–outdoor zones let facilities breathe and flex during construction, delays, and peak travel. This same adaptability readies airports for eVTOL pads and short-haul hybrid operations without committing to costly, fixed expansions too soon.

A group of people walking around a building with a large courtyard.
Design Forecast identifies the trends and design strategies shaping the future of the built environment. With strategic advice, research, and projects from all 33 of Gensler’s practice areas, we help clients elevate the human experience in cities around the world.
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AVIATION LEADERSHIP
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