New visitor terrace at Zurich Airport opens on December 1, 2011
After undergoing a complete four-year renovation, Dock B will open on December 1st with the newly designed visitor terrace. At last count, over 300,000 aviation fans and families visited the airport each year, in order to get a first hand glimpse of the airplanes. On the 250-meter-long roof terrace, various media installations and exhibits broaden the experience with interesting facts about the airport and flight operations. Since half of the visitors are children, additional productions were developed especially for the younger visitors.
At four observation points, guests can use a medial telescope to observe the airport grounds and interactively request additional information about the airport and flight operations. The user sees the real environment by gazing through the Airport Scopes, whereby the various airport buildings, but also the airplanes that roll by, are virtually tagged. If he pans to a tagged object and selects it over the buttons in the handles, it is taken into focus and a window with information – for example about the tower, the hangars, or the aircraft rolling towards the runway – opens up.
Six of the electronic displays distributed along the terrace show technical details and flight information of the aircraft parked on Dock B. Insights into the flight operations are provided on glass panels; for example, preparation for takeoff is explained or the code of the aircraft radio elucidated, which can be heard over an integrated loudspeaker in elevators.
Floor graphics that have been inspired by the markings on the landing field act as a guidance system and create the atmospheric framework for the installations. In addition, the 12 stations of the Kid's Tour are indicated on the ground with red dots. At the entrance to the terrace, children receive a play and learn book, which invites them to participate at these stations. Activities include search pictures, puzzles, or drawings to label. There is also a big playground designed with air traffic related motifs. Three-dimensional play elements “grow” out of the white, graphic silhouettes that represent different types of aircraft. For instance, the blades of a helicopter are transformed into a carousel.