On a long layover in Abu-Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates is a good topos for first surface impressions around which to think about interconnections between place and space. For the purpose of this little blog, that includes utopian imaginings regarding the place of Israel in the space of the larger world. Open for serious business, Zayed International Airport is a crossroad between West, South, and East Asia. My flight to Tel Aviv left at 3:25 AM.

As described by its designers at Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF). the port was built on an X-scheme: “The X scheme demonstrated the greatest programmatic efficiencies, reducing the average walking distance between points for those leaving, arriving, or transferring from Terminal A.” At KPF, they “see airports as cities–not just stagnant machines for moving people and cargo, but living, working, 24/7, flexible environments that grow and change. As such, we approached our design and planning for Zayed International Airport with considerations for lively mixed-use spaces, public art, and sustainability.” The airport is “raised up from the road level giving the appearance of sitting on its own plateau. In this context the building is the dominant and most imposing structure on the horizon with a profile silhouetted against the sky.”