Passage on the Wings

Date & Location

September 2024 - December 2024
Orlando, Florida

Flying with the birds.

A museum-style airport designed to illustrate the aviation narratives of both birds and humans. Envision air travel as a harmonious journey alongside birds, where the birds guide you to your destination. The experience will be divided into two main segments: “Departure” representing the “Dream of Flight,” and “Arrival” symbolizing “Landing of Great Migrations.”

This unique way of airport narration gives us a platform to help promote eco-tourism for the local bird-watching industry.

Project Type
School Project
‘‘Storytelling As Theatre Art’’
MS in Themed Experience,
University of Central Florida

Professor
Patrick Braillard
(Senior Show Writer, Universal Creative)

Keywords
Creative Writing, Themed Experience,
Concept Design, Airport Design,
Curation, Storytelling

Part 1
“Dream of Flight”

The Departure Lobby: A Celebration of the Dream of Flight
The Departure Lobby serves as the starting point for the journey toward the sky, embodying the universal human aspiration to conquer the skies. This act bridges the natural history of flight with humanity's timeless pursuit of airborne exploration, presenting a cohesive narrative of curiosity, innovation, and wonder. At the heart of the lobby stands Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird from the Late Jurassic period, symbolizing the origins of flight. Positioned as if running toward the departure gates, it serves as a dynamic focal point, surrounded by a second hierarchy of flying creatures from its era, including pterosaurs, insects, and flying fish. These specimens evoke the evolutionary steps that shaped nature’s mastery of the skies. On the human side of the story, bas-reliefs of bird-men and other mythic figures illustrate ancient dreams of soaring.
Adjacent displays feature Eastern innovations like sky lanterns and kites alongside Western inventions such as hot air balloons, emphasizing the global and historical yearning to ascend. Architecturally, the lobby is grounded in a stone foundation that evokes the timeless grandeur of a Natural History Museum while incorporating the nostalgic charm of a 19th-Century World’s Fair. The design marries the mythic with the historical, creating a space that inspires awe and sets the stage for the journey ahead.

Checkpoint: Racing Through the Timelines of Flight
The elongated corridor, serving as the border checkpoint and baggage inspection area, transforms the routine process into a dynamic journey through the evolution of flight. The goal of this space is to evoke momentum, encouraging passengers to move swiftly while immersing them in parallel narratives of nature and human ingenuity. The linear design represents two timelines: one tracing the evolution of ancient birds from gliders to true flyers, and the other chronicling humanity's technological breakthroughs in aviation. Guests walk within these intersecting timelines, surrounded by displays of bird physiology, early aerodynamic studies, and human gliding experiments. Research sketches, preparatory schematics, and conceptual designs create an engaging narrative that highlights the progression from instinctual to engineered flight.
Architecturally, the corridor seamlessly transitions from the traditional museum aesthetic at its entrance, characterized by stone structures, to an abstract, geometric style at its end, symbolizing the leap into modern science. This journey culminates in a striking display of the first true flying bird alongside humanity's first successful airplane, celebrating the moment when dreams of flight transcended into reality.

Departure Floor: Birds of all seasons
Passengers transition from a curated museum experience into a vibrant Eden of All Birds, a soaring, light-filled space that serves as the symbolic heart of the sky. Inspired by the design of grand Victorian aviaries, the high-ceilinged lounge features a central dome with radiating ironwork, where intricate steel-framed windows cast shifting patterns of sunlight throughout the day. The lush garden landscape spans a range of climates, from tropical jungles to temperate woodlands, creating an ecosystem of verdant harmony. Ducks glide across tranquil pools, while a cascading water feature fills the space with the calming sounds of flowing streams. Adding to the ambiance, shops themed around birds oﬀer unique, nature-inspired merchandise, while an array of restaurants presents diverse cuisines, each drawing inspiration from avian species and cultures around the globe. This immersive environment invites passengers to pause and connect with the natural world before their journey takes flight.

Airplane Watching: The worship of nature
In this act, the journey shifts to the Metal Birds of modern flight. Facing the airfield, a vast floor-to-ceiling window offers passengers a panoramic view of airplanes in motion, creating a live tableau of departure and arrival.
This section of the garden contrasts with the organic vibrancy of earlier spaces, adopting a sleek, high-tech aesthetic. Artificial plants, ingeniously crafted from aircraft components, blend futuristic design with natural forms, blurring the boundary between birds and airplanes, and the nature and technology.
Museum-style information plaques are thoughtfully placed throughout the space, offering passengers insights into the mechanics of flight and the evolution of aircraft. Together, these elements celebrate the seamless intersection of nature and human innovation, drawing a symbolic connection between avian flight and the machines that now dominate the skies.

Boarding Gate: Flying With the Birds
The boarding gates transform into an open aviary, where each gate celebrates a unique migratory bird species, symbolizing the spirit of long-distance travel. In contrast to the stationary birds of the indoor garden, these aviary inhabitants evoke motion and journey, mirroring the experience of travelers preparing to take flight.
Designed in a lush Victorian style, the gates are adorned with natural elements, intricate glasswork, and reflective mirrors, creating an expansive, dreamlike atmosphere. Bird-shaped public art installations—ranging from paintings to sculptures—infuse the space with character. Some installations feature subtle animations, bringing the birds to life with graceful movements.
As the moment of boarding arrives, the sculptures’ wings begin to flap in unison, choreographing a symbolic sendoff. Windmills, sails, and flags inspired by diverse cultural traditions accentuate the ambiance, evoking the rising wind that signals the start of a journey. Travelers are invited to step forward, propelled by the energy of flight and exploration.

Part 2
“The Destination of Big Migrations”

Arrival Gate: the Destination of a Big Migration
As passengers disembark, the journey transitions from the skies back to land, symbolizing the culmination of a grand migration. Stepping off the plane, they enter a softly illuminated space where misted windows create the illusion of descending from the clouds.
As travelers proceed, the mist clears to reveal a lively, welcoming scene. Above the boarding gates, birds flap their wings in rhythmic harmony, while windmills turn gently, evoking the spirit of flight.
Within the room, passengers are greeted by sculptures and installations of birds, their lifelike movements and gentle presence creating a sense of arrival and connection.
This immersive environment blends dynamic motion with a tranquil atmosphere, offering a heartfelt welcome back to solid ground and signaling the transition from the airborne world to the destination.

Arrival Floor: Above the Eden
Above the departure floor and indoor garden, passengers ascend into a space that evokes the feeling of traversing a forest canopy. Victorian craftsmanship seamlessly blends with vibrant greenery, creating a pathway surrounded by the natural world and artistic tributes to flight.
Public art installations feature birds in mid-flight, their graceful forms subtly guiding passengers forward. As travelers move through the space, they pass murals depicting local landmarks harmoniously integrated with the surrounding foliage. The wall art transforms from painted clouds to trees, then to leaves, and eventually to dense shrubbery, mirroring the progression from sky to earth.
The colors shift from soft sky blues to deep verdant greens, creating a sense of immersion in nature. As the hues deepen, the space gradually narrows, enveloping travelers in a quiet, forest-like embrace as they continue their journey.

Custom & Immigration: the Last Transition
In this linear corridor, passengers shift from "flight mode" to "land mode" as they progress toward the stone and steel museum lobby. The design of the space is intentionally streamlined to facilitate efficient movement, guiding travelers swiftly through the customs and immigration process. The interior style transitions seamlessly from the Victorian elegance of earlier spaces to the classic, formal ambiance of a natural history museum.
As passengers move forward, the wallpaper and paintings, once adorned with images of birds in flight, gradually transform to depict ground-dwelling birds, symbolizing the return to solid ground. The designs further evolve from wallpaper to framed scientific illustrations and landscape paintings, each capturing earthbound creatures in intricate detail, reinforcing the theme of a grounded journey and the transition back to terra firma.

Baggage Claim: Find the One
The baggage claim area is designed as the "backstage" of a museum, evoking the organized chaos of a museum storage facility. Wooden crates of various sizes are stacked throughout the space, some open to reveal partially packed specimens, artifacts, and art pieces, as though in the process of being cataloged or restored. Ladders, workbenches, and rooms reminiscent of research and conservation labs further enhance the feeling of an active, ongoing museum workspace.
Conveyor belts crisscross the area in dynamic, layered formations, blending functionality with a curated aesthetic. As passengers wait for their luggage, the space doubles as an exhibition area, showcasing local bird species and promoting the region's bird-watching industry. Informational displays, interactive exhibits, and visual representations highlight the diversity of local birdlife, inviting guests to explore and learn while waiting. The fusion of a working museum environment with local cultural promotion creates a unique, immersive experience that enriches the passenger's time in this transitional space.

Arrival Lobby: Welcome to the Grand Museum
In the arrival hall, guests are greeted by a grand, expansive space that seamlessly merges the essence of a Natural History Museum with the charm of a 19th-Century World’s Fair. The space's focus is on welcoming distinguished guests from around the world, while celebrating the beauty and diversity of the local natural landscape.
Here, travel by air gives way to connection by land, inviting guests to embark on their next phase of exploration and connection to the local environment. This space serves as a platform to creatively use birds as a central theme, integrating a wide array of content that introduces local culture and promotes tourism. By weaving together art, nature, and local heritage, the arrival hall provides visitors with an immersive experience that offers insight into the region's cultural and ecological identity, encouraging further exploration and engagement with the local attractions.