Space Clearing
The feng shui art of Space Clearing - by Karen Kingston

Airport carpet feng shui

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Written by Karen Kingston   
Monday, 25 February 2008

Sydney airport carpetOf all the aiports I've visited in my life (and there have been many), Sydney gets my all-time greatest accolade for its carpet. Cleverly designed using four shades of blue, it has the appearance and feel of walking on a gentle ocean and always looks fresh, clean and welcoming. The small flecks of yellow and red add just the right amount of warmth and interest without making it feel too busy. Arriving in Sydney and walking on this carpet always lifts my spirits and makes me feel glad to be in Australia.

I remember Bill Bryson observing in one of his books that a person's first impressions of a city are hugely influenced by the approach road taken to get there. In a similar vein, I've noticed that the design and ambience of an airport has a massive impact on how a person feels about a place when they first arrive, and the first steps taken on terra firma after flying are especially highlighted. Depending on how far you have flown and how well you handle being airborne, there is a whole energetic adjustment that takes place when you land, and airport carpet can either help or hinder that process.

Singapore airport carpetSadly, most airport designers have shocking taste in carpet. Heathrow's endless grey is one of the worst examples (so bad I couldn't bring myself to even take a photo of it when I was there recently).

Singapore is a wonderful airport, but sometime in the year since I was last there someone has ripped up the acres of soothing, unobtrusive carpet in Terminal 2 and replaced it with a design that can only have been created by a psychotic having a very bad day. It's not just depressing, it's downright disturbing. You look down and feel deranged. You look ahead (see image on right) and you feel so disoriented you hesitate to move. It's a carpet that inspires a plethora of adjectives beginning with 'D'. What can they have been thinking?

Copyright © Karen Kingston, 2008


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Comments (2)
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The Sydney carpet reminds me of a terrazzo floor in the one of the terminals at the Seattle USA airport - sort of airport gray as a base, but with blue and green flecks throughout that are concentrated on a flowing 'stream' that goes through the whole terminal, and has inlaid (looks like copper, might be something else) fish in it.
 Written by babysteps on 26-04-2008 06:55 [IP: 61.94.191.193]  
Dear Karen, 
Reading about your experiences of airports made me think of different countries I have visited and it was so easy to recall my first impressions. For example landing in Madras, India for the first time was shocking. Old and no signs of welcoming. When I checked in to leave the country it was so nice, with shops, and so clean. Was it really the same airport? Have you ever landed in Frankfurt and had this very long walk from one side of the airport to the older? Seems like a never ending story. There is a kind of tunnel with travelator. The designer worked with shifting lights and the whole space changes in appearance. I always become very happy. Itīs surreal, takes your mind away from the airport. With lots of love, Lisen, Sweden
 Written by Lisen on 24-03-2008 00:07 [IP: 202.169.246.126]  

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