GATEWAYS: An Interior Architecture exploration of the effects our environment has on stress and how innovative design principles and intuitive wayfinding systems can reduce these within the context of airport passenger terminals in order to facilitate the outbound international passenger process.

Gateways explores the synergy of innovative airport design, effective wayfinding systems, and a consideration of passengers’ mental states to enhance the outbound international passenger experience. The overarching goal is to mitigate stress and anxiety-inducing stimuli. by leveraging passengers’ cognitive abilities for intuitive navigation. The research begins with a comprehensive review of pertinent literature and case studies on airport design, passenger experience, stress, anxiety, and wayfinding. Drawing inspiration from Stanford University’s divergent and convergent methodology strategy, the ‘research through design’ framework integrates both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative aspects include narrative exploration, case studies, content analysis, and observation, while quantitative methods involve sketching, model making, and digital model production. The study centres around Wellington Airport’s redevelopment for 2040, utilizing personal photography, site visits, and passenger movement studies for analysis. The literature review spans airport-related stress, wayfinding, design, sensory considerations, materiality, and anxiety, while case studies of Daxing International Airport, The New York subway wayfinding system, and Barajas International Airport inform the research. Data analysis involves a synthesis of imagery, text, sketching, model-making, and diagramming. The design process employs tools like sketching, physical and digital model- making using ArchiCAD, and rendering in Lumion. Despite the absence of a formal ethics application, data collection prioritizes anonymity, with a primary focus on passenger movement studies. The culmination is a concept design for Wellington Airport, serving as a digital manifestation of the research findings, with a specific focus on enhancing the international departure process. The analysis underscores that many airports fall short in their internal environments, contributing to stress, and emphasising the pressing need for improved design and wayfinding systems. The concept design for Wellington Airport serves as a practical application, offering tangible solutions to transform the outbound international passenger experience positively.