Are soundscapes becoming common in designer airport terminals?
These are definitely a common feature in 21st-century terminals. Artist Christopher Janney’s work for Dallas-Fort Worth and Boston’s Logan airports, and Bill Fontana’s installation at Mineta San Jose International, are three excellent examples. In the Terminal C Tower at Logan, Janney created an interactive component using the natural sounds of New England; 38 speakers were built into the passageway, and passengers moving through it trigger a constantly changing “musical score” of gulls cawing, crickets chirping, ocean waves, etc. Fontana’s idea was that passengers leaving San Jose through the fixed bridges leading to the aircraft should hear the sounds of their destinations, so his audio compositions include wild Hawaiian chickens and beeping New York taxis for departing passengers. Those who are arriving in San Jose are greeted with the sounds of home as they walk through: native Californian birds singing, concert performances, etc. At Canada’s award-winning Vancouver International A
