Chapter 2: Literature Review & Research Methodology

2.0  Literature Research & Research Methodology

2.1 Definition & Functions of Airport

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, an airport is defined as a place that served as a terminal for passengers to wait in and paved runways where aircraft regularly take off and land with maintenance facilities provided (Merriam Webster, n.d.). The role of an airport can be intermodal as it not only served as an infrastructure for aviation but also a transport hub with various facilities for social and economic life. Airports are being classified into a few categories and each category is developed to provide different functions, facilities, and services to the user (Michal Pierzakowski, n.d.). The categories included:

i. Regional and regular air transportation hubs- which accommodate scheduled flights regionally, nationally or internationally.

ii. General, private and charter connection aviation hubs- which accommodated private jets, helicopters or other aviation activities.

iii. Social activities- Fire and Safety Aviation which increase the safety of the region and citizens.

iv. Economic- which obtained income from tourism with influx of professionals and skilled workforce.

v. Military- which mainly seen and used to patrol the region during wars.

2.2 Summary of Airport Planning Theory

Airport planning is mainly manually guided by domestic and international bodies such as International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) to oversee the development unlike others general urban planning. The airport planning theory is divided into two general sectors which are the general airport planning and terminal building planning. Moreover, the process of airport planning revolves the normative aspects and also the rational analysis with airport’s dynamic environment and the satisfaction of end user (Alessandro, 2000). The consideration of design in the airside area, terminal building and landside area are well taken off to ensure the operation of the airport is smarter and safer with comfortable passenger experience.

2.3 Background and Justification of the Chosen Airports

In Chapter 1, an outline of methodological approach as the fundamental part of this report’s objectives and aims is given. A detailed justification and background of the chosen research methodology will be explained in this sub-chapter to archive the objectives of this report. Three airports in Malaysia is chosen as case studies to map out how the architectural styles, interior design, space planning and building programme influenced the airport experience. The analysis and findings through observation and photographs taken will be recorded and used as the primary data for this report.

In addition, an on-site survey has been conducted by approaching travelers or airport customers at the chosen site to highlight the personal airport experience. The secondary data from the survey may be important and highlights the important fundamental about airport experiences as some participants failed to mention the experiences due to the method approached and lack of time.

An online survey was conducted to justify and negating the information about the rating airport experiences based on the chosen airport’s architectural styles, interior designs, building programme, spatial planning and spatial quality. The information and response from all the participants will be analyzed and discussed to the overall experience in each airport.

2.3.1 Subang Skypark 

Figure 1 & Figure 2 Old Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport

Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, which was now known as Subang Skypark was once Kuala Lumpur main principle airport and it was officially opened in 30 August 1965. The airport consists of three terminals- Terminal 1 for international flights, Terminal 2 for flights that scheduled by Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines and Terminal 3 for domestic flights (Skypark Terminal, n.d.). However, Subang Skypark is now a regional alternative to travel by turboprop aircraft domestically and internationally after the opening of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 1998 (HL Design Group, n.d.).

 

Figure 3 Subang Skypark

In February 2008, Terminal 3 (Figure 3) has underwent renovation works which included the refurbishment of certain area of the terminal, interior spaces and enhancement of the external shell to provide an aeronautical aesthetic theme with industrial concept. Terminal 3 was commenced in October 2009 and renamed as Subang Skypark while Terminal 1 has been permanently demolished and Terminal 2 was used as the management office of Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (Open Building, 2009).

2.3.2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)

Figure 4 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Figure 4) was officially inaugurated on 27 June 1998 and replaced Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang as Kuala Lumpur’s main principle airport. KLIA has won numerous awards since its opening for its extensive services and also being the “World Best Airport” for its spacious space (KLIA2, n.d.). With the concept of “Airport in the Forest, Forest in the Airport”, the overall architectural form was inspired by the palm oil tree and the area was surrounded by 10,000 hectares of forest to reduce the noise pollution due to aircraft noise. An entire section of green forest was also built inside of the satellite building to implement the concept of the airport and also to provide a better user experience. KLIA has also received Green Globe 21 certificate and Platinum Status in EarthCheck Benchmarked Airport as they promoted environment responsibility to all travelers locally and internationally (Malaysia Airports, n.d.). The airport itself was built as a user-friendly and homely transportation hub with serene environment, together with various facilities, services and high-end retail user experience.

2.3.3 Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2)

 

Figure 5 Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2)

Located less than 2 kilometers from KLIA, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (Figure 5) was built with the concept of “Malaysia’s Next Generation International Airport Hub” that was dedicated for low-cost and full services carriers. Commenced on 2 May 2014, the mega terminal consists of 35000 square meters of retail spaces for shopping experiences in between of drop-off point and main terminal and also a multi-modal transportation hub that connects passengers around Kuala Lumpur areas (Malaysia Airports, n.d.). The contemporary structure of terminal was derived from the simple folding planes and aeronautical forms to keep the design of the terminal simple and at the same time adapted to the local tropical climate which is hot and humid all year long (N Architect, 2011). Moreover, the terminal was also incorporated with various green features and environmental technology, thus the terminal was awarded as green airport by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Certification and Environmentally Responsible Interior Design (ERID).