Designing for Flow and Comfort
Project
- Frankfurt Terminal 3 Marketplace
Theme
- Digital Processes
Size
- 6,000 m²
Team
- Matthijs la Roi
- Stephan Markus Albrecht
- Piotr Baszynsk
- David Stiele
- Marvin Bratke
- Nuno Galvao
- Mircea Morgan
- Michal Bednar
- Simone Tchonova
- Carl-Christoph Gresse
- Barbora Srpkova
- Miroslav Strigac
- Aida Ramirez Marrujo
- Costa Krautwald
- Jan Veselsky
- Samuel Weiss
- Julian Wengzinek
- Andrea Anselmo
Location
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Typology
- Transport Architecture
Status
- Under construction
Collaborators
- Engineering: Bollinger & Grohmann
- Wenzel+Wenzel
Images
- LAVA
- MOKA-Studio
- René Spalek
- Fraport AG
Year
- 2015
Client
- Fraport AG
Partner
- Alexander Rieck
Project
- Frankfurt Terminal 3 Marketplace
Location
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Year
- 2015
Typology
- Transport Architecture
Theme
- Digital Processes
Client
- Fraport AG
Size
- 6,000 m²
Status
- Under construction
Team
- Matthijs la Roi
- Stephan Markus Albrecht
- Piotr Baszynsk
- David Stiele
- Marvin Bratke
- Nuno Galvao
- Mircea Morgan
- Michal Bednar
- Simone Tchonova
- Carl-Christoph Gresse
- Barbora Srpkova
- Miroslav Strigac
- Aida Ramirez Marrujo
- Costa Krautwald
- Jan Veselsky
- Samuel Weiss
- Julian Wengzinek
- Andrea Anselmo
Collaborators
- Engineering: Bollinger & Grohmann
- Wenzel+Wenzel
Partner
- Alexander Rieck
What if the architecture of large public spaces could cultivate moments of pause, turning obligatory waiting times into opportunities for reflection and well-being? LAVA’s design for the marketplace at Frankfurt Airport’s new terminal does just this, leveraging digital processes to reduce stress and recalibrate the circadian rhythms of international travelers.
THE EVOLUTION OF AIRPORTS
Built to accommodate a wide variety of services and an even wider range of people, airports have undergone a dramatic transformation since their early days as rudimentary airstrips set in grassy fields. Today, these sprawling urban hybrids operate at a scale comparable to small cities, yet their quality and services remain a subject of ongoing debate. By design, airports must prioritize the utilitarian demands of mass transit, but often this occurs at the expense of user experience. Frequently critiqued as overwhelming, uncomfortable, and difficult to navigate, airports can leave travelers feeling adrift in poorly planned spaces that make the journey something to endure rather than enjoy. For the new terminal of Frankfurt Airport, which welcomed 61.6 million passengers in 2024 alone, LAVA designed a 6,000-square-meter marketplace that counters the usual chaos with a spatial plan that prioritizes ambiance, efficiency, and traveler well-being.
"The goal was to transform waiting times in a liminal space into moments of reflection and well-being in a carefully designed space, enhancing the travel experience with digital processes."
TRANSFORMING WAITING TIME INTO EXPERIENCE
“During the first phase of design, we mapped the traveler's journey,” explains LAVA Partner Alexander Rieck. “Travel can be stressful, particularly at airports, where the uncertainty of time often leads to either arriving too early or too late.” The airport experience begins with check-in, followed by unpredictable security lines, and, for international travelers, the added hurdle of passport control. After navigating these steps, many travelers find they have factored in too much time, leaving them with unexpected hours before their flight. During this period of downtime, airports profit not from ticket sales, but from the time passengers spend shopping and dining. For LAVA, the challenge was designing a space that would encourage people to pause and explore, rather than rush through their gates. “We wanted to create a space people would remember,” Rieck notes.
"We employed agent-based modeling to simulate passenger movement, optimizing spatial configurations and informing the terminal's layout and circulation patterns."
DIGITAL SIMULATIONS FOR SPACE OPTIMIZATION
The design process began with a digital crowd simulation, in which LAVA used agent-based modeling to study how passengers moved and interacted in different spatial layouts. This revealed emergent movement patterns—known as “desire lines—which represent the most efficient paths through a space. LAVA applied a similar approach when designing the traveling exhibition Out of Hand: Materializing the Digital. The resulting floorplan offered a fluid alternative to the rigid, grid-based layouts typically found in galleries and museums.
The simulation also highlighted potential congestion points and opportunities to optimize space and passenger flow. LAVA further refined the design by analyzing key visual axes and sightlines, considering which perspectives would be most engaging and where passengers would naturally direct their attention when navigating the space. Recognizing our tendency to gravitate toward visually stimulating and aesthetically appealing spaces, these findings informed the strategic placement of various programmatic zones: restaurants, stores, lounges, and green spaces. “Without realizing, passengers are being guided through the space,” continues Reick. “Their journey takes them along a carefully designed path that passes shops, restaurants, and oases of calm. Crucially, it’s not stressful—there are no confusing spaces or moments of uncertainty about direction. It’s designed to create a seamless, enjoyable experience.
SCULPTURAL REST SPACES
LAVA refers to this design concept as an archipelago: a series of “islands” situated within the marketplace. Each island serves a distinct purpose—rest, dining, information—designed to offer a unique experience while creating a calming ambiance. Based on the modeling, the islands are placed to allow optimal flow of foot traffic; their rounded, orderly forms ensure smooth circulation of people even during peak travel times. Crafted from terrazzo, the sculptural edges of these islands create a fluid, organic connection with the terminal’s larger space. “Like islands in a fast-flowing river, these lounge areas provide respite from the crowd.” The goal, he explains, was to encourage people to stop and enjoy the space, while maintaining a clear and intuitive wayfinding logic that reduces reliance on signage.
"A 6,000-square-meter marketplace features an archipelago of sculptural islands designed for diverse functions, enhancing comfort, relaxation, and smooth passenger flow within a fluid, organic layout."
HARNESSING DAYLIGHT TO RESET BIORHYTHMS
Using parametric modeling, LAVA designed a sculptural “cloud” ceiling that channels sunlight into the marketplace. Composed of aluminum tubes, the ceiling features three large-scale conical forms whose reflective surfaces direct sunlight from the exterior of the building downwards, illuminating different islands and creating focal points. By concentrating sunlight on specific resting areas rather than diffusing it throughout the entire marketplace, the cloud ceiling helps recalibrate the body’s internal clock, easing the disorientation that comes with long-haul travel. “Under these sculptural tubes, travelers are bathed in the full spectrum of natural light,” explains Rieck. The undulating ceiling highlights the main circulation routes, which are reflected by the placement of islands on the floor below. Together, these design elements guide passengers through the space in a way that feels intuitive and seamless
"Parametric modeling and automated production shaped the 'cloud' ceiling from 18,000 meters of aluminum tubing, bent into 3,000 forms. It channels natural light to enhance well-being, regulate circadian rhythms, and guide passengers."
The design of this sculptural ceiling emerged from a highly technical, machine-informed process in which architecture and engineering combined to create a precise, functional structure. Composed of 18,000 meters of aluminum tubing, the ceiling features 3,000 unique forms, each shaped on-site using CNC machines capable of bending pipes in two directions. LAVA’s approach is bound to the capabilities of these machines, with the design informed by the radius and dimensions of the pipes they were able to bend. The result is a ceiling that serves as a wayfinder, lighting, and architectural statement, responding to human needs and the spatial logic of the terminal
