Title

Author(s)

Douglas Hassebroek

Affiliation

AIA

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/SIQT5401

Keywords

Airport, TWA, Theme Building

PP

450-456

How to Cite

Douglas Hassebroek. “Your Gate has Changed Adaptive Reuse at the Heart of the Modern Airport.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 450–456. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

New York’s JFK and Los Angeles’ LAX have been in a constant cycle of demolition and reconstruction at the service of airport operations, yet two of the most iconic monuments of American Jet Age Futurism—Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center at JFK and Pereira & Luckman’s Theme Building at LAX—now sit as beloved relics at the center of their respective airports. Built within a year of each other, both structures channel technological ambition and civic identity. And both were rendered obsolete almost immediately by changes in aviation. This paper examines the afterlives of these structures as case studies in adaptive reuse at the intersection of preservation, commerce, and technology. The TWA Flight Center’s reinvention as a hotel is often cited as a seamless success story, but its reuse required deeply invasive interventions, exorbitant infrastructure, and a series of previously unthinkable compromises. By contrast, the LAX Theme Building, originally conceived as the central domed hub of futuristically-arrayed radiating terminals, was downgraded to an observation deck and restaurant and preserved by means of isolation as the airport developed around it. Together, these case studies show that the success or failure of adaptive reuse often rides on land use decisions made in the surroundings. They also challenge the more facile narratives surrounding the cultural and sustainability benefits of adaptive reuse. Such narratives may overlook the hidden demands of new programs, new infrastructure, code compliance, structural retrofitting, and commercial viability.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.