Originally Posted by
exwannabe
Arguably ATL is the most efficient airport ammongst AOS (airports of size)..
I always question to what extent that was pure luck. Did they realize back in the 70s that the then common spoke system has issues? Or were they just trying to fit it in the space so went the T-A-B-C-D linear setup? Do not know.
The main portion of ATL was designed by an Atlanta architectural firm named Stephens & Wilkinson (now S&W Architects). Even 40 years on, it is a marvel of efficiency. The only (minor) change that would have made it better would have been wider concourses to accommodate moving walkways.
Look at all of the airport terminals around the world designed by big "name" architecture firms like Norman Foster & Associates or Richard Rogers Partnership/Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, etc (HKG, PEK, the never-built MEX, LHR T5). They are glamorous and glitzy, and they get a lot of press, especially in the design industry. But they don't work nearly as efficiently as ATL. Stephens & Wilkinson designed a giant factory for moving a LOT of people, and they totally succeeded.