Case Study: Chicago O'Hare Airport
Terminal Five in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport had long been in need for a refresh. “All the food outlets were pre-security, so once passengers went through security there was really no place to get something to eat other than Hudson News,” says John Kolb, Vice President and Senior Project Manager of Epstein Global. The terminal’s security lines also had a problem of overflowing into the ticketing area and even out towards entrances during peak times.
Westfield, a retail giant known for managing and developing high-end shopping malls and airport concessions, won the bid to lease out the terminal and awarded Epstein the design work. The project’s goal, according to Kolb, was to make the airport much more user-friendly. The redevelopment expanded Terminal 5’s original 15,000 square feet space to 26,000 square feet, which helped cover the improvement of the security line areas, the creation of public restrooms in both pre- and post-security TSA checkpoint areas, and the expansion of the retail and food options.
Epstein worked closely with Westfield’s L.A.-based design team throughout the project. Together, the design team selected Wilkhahn’s Chassis chair for use in the main general seating area for the terminal’s food hall, which houses multiple restaurant outlets. “First and foremost, it came to the look,” Kolb says of the Chassis, “It was a chair that worked the rest of the design of the space.” The team opted for the Chassis in a sleek graphite black frame with a white seat and backrest shell.
Once the team agreed on the look of the Chassis, they tested the chair and ultimately approved of the quality and comfort for the food hall. Kolb adds, “This is an area that gets a lot of traffic and abuse so we wanted something that would hold up over time. We really focused on three factors in the selection process of these chairs—aesthetics, comfort, and durability.”
The project was an overall success for O’Hare. According to Travel Pulse in April 2015, the terminal’s transformation boasted a 94% increase in food and beverage sales, a 61% growth in duty-free sales, and a 65% jump in retail sales from 2011 to 2014. The renovation has not only improved business for the Airport and the city—it has also improved passengers’ travel experience. “Personally, I have friends who do a lot of international travel through O’Hare and it has improved their lives,” says Kolb. “They go out there and finally have a place to get something good to eat. They have a place to charge their phones. It really brings the experience up to what you would have at other international airports.”
Project: O’Hare International Airport – Terminal Five
Project Architect: Epstein
Client: Westfield
Completed: Early 2014
Featured Product: Chassis – Graphite Black Frame with White Seat and Backrest Shell
Chassis multi-purpose chair
Westfield, a retail giant known for managing and developing high-end shopping malls and airport concessions, won the bid to lease out the terminal and awarded Epstein the design work. The project’s goal, according to Kolb, was to make the airport much more user-friendly. The redevelopment expanded Terminal 5’s original 15,000 square feet space to 26,000 square feet, which helped cover the improvement of the security line areas, the creation of public restrooms in both pre- and post-security TSA checkpoint areas, and the expansion of the retail and food options.
Epstein worked closely with Westfield’s L.A.-based design team throughout the project. Together, the design team selected Wilkhahn’s Chassis chair for use in the main general seating area for the terminal’s food hall, which houses multiple restaurant outlets. “First and foremost, it came to the look,” Kolb says of the Chassis, “It was a chair that worked the rest of the design of the space.” The team opted for the Chassis in a sleek graphite black frame with a white seat and backrest shell.
Once the team agreed on the look of the Chassis, they tested the chair and ultimately approved of the quality and comfort for the food hall. Kolb adds, “This is an area that gets a lot of traffic and abuse so we wanted something that would hold up over time. We really focused on three factors in the selection process of these chairs—aesthetics, comfort, and durability.”
The project was an overall success for O’Hare. According to Travel Pulse in April 2015, the terminal’s transformation boasted a 94% increase in food and beverage sales, a 61% growth in duty-free sales, and a 65% jump in retail sales from 2011 to 2014. The renovation has not only improved business for the Airport and the city—it has also improved passengers’ travel experience. “Personally, I have friends who do a lot of international travel through O’Hare and it has improved their lives,” says Kolb. “They go out there and finally have a place to get something good to eat. They have a place to charge their phones. It really brings the experience up to what you would have at other international airports.”
Project: O’Hare International Airport – Terminal Five
Project Architect: Epstein
Client: Westfield
Completed: Early 2014
Featured Product: Chassis – Graphite Black Frame with White Seat and Backrest Shell
Chassis multi-purpose chair