Photo Essay: Futuristic Retro

Most of us never got the chance to experience the cool futuristic designs and thinkings of the 1960s. So I was super excited when I was able to visit the Terminal 5, formerly known as the TWA Flight Center, at JFK airport. I have to say it’s one of my favorite building with the spaceship-like exterior. The terminal was left vacant since 2001 until in October 2004 an exhibition with different types of art signaled the rebirth of the terminal.
I was lucky enough to be catching a flight out to LA that day of the opening at Jetblue, which was adjacent to Terminal 5. As I walked in, all the artists were busily putting the last touches on their project or being interviewed by the media. There were still few hours before the actual opening and that made it perfect for me to quietly enjoy the pieces of art and especially the architecture. My favorite part of the building were the purple tinted windows. It brought this calm and yet quite groovy kind of feeling to a simple seating area. I would not mind sitting there a whole day while waiting for my flight.
I am disappointed that most airports nowadays are quite boring. No one takes the time to enjoy their surroundings anymore and airports in general just don’t get much design and architecture love from the public. Everything about the 1960s were futuristic and space-themed and that is so specific to the 1960s. Hopefully when this terminal reopens in the near future, the flair of the 1960s will be kept for people to enjoy.