Book excerpt: In the last decade, a great deal of excitement has been generated around the architecture of contemporary airports. It is, however, the inside rather than the outside of airport terminals that have undergone the most substantial design revolution. With increased security, passengers spend an increasing amount of time in airports airside awaiting flights. Airport operators have capitalised on this captive audience, becoming increasingly sophisticated in their provision of facilities, as suppliers of much more than essential amenities and mini shopping malls. Airlines also seek to express their competitive advantage through their lounges and adjacent spaces; and retailers and food and beverage providers are producing attractive, often localised spaces for visitors. The operators are keen to differentiate the quality of their terminals whether it is through pitching at a luxury goods market, with top name brands, or endowing their interior spaces with a unique sense of place. This book is not only one of the first titles to focus on airports’ interior design, but also to realise for both a design and business readership the financial and strategic importance of airport interior design. Airport Interiors features exemplary case studies from all over the world, including: the Malaysian luxury-goods retailer Valiram; duty-free retail in Bangkok’s Suvarnbhumi Airport; the UK restaurant chain Giraffe; leading lounge concepts from Virgin Atlantic; and the innovative airport retail outlets of Chinese brand Shanghai Tang. While providing designers with a unique understanding of business needs, the book also highlights to operators and retailers how high the design bar is set in this competitive field.