Prospero

Just throwing the idea out there...

I'll begin with the Galleries First lounge and set out the current landscape - click here for the current layout plan

I like the Galleries First lounge. I'll expand - I like it a lot. In fact, given the choice between this lounge and Concorde Room next door, my preference is the GF lounge for no reason other than I am most comfortable when I'm left to fend for myself.


Seating:
Armchairs and ottomans are the winning formula. They work so well because they subtly define our personal space. In the old T1 F lounge, my bee-line was for the single loungers that faced the windows (not that the view there was ever particularly impressive). They were cleverly staggered and screened which added a degree of privacy. Power points were also within arm's reach. So my first wish list item would be to add a row of outward looking loungers along the south edge of the lounge.

Cathay have taken the concept of personal space a stage further with their innovative Solus Chairs, designed to provide a self contained place to relax, work and eat. Would this concept work in T5?


Cathay Pacific Solus Chair at HKIA (Flickr: pointhacks)


Terrace:
A great place to bask oneself in natural daylight and follow the apron and runway activities. The treatment of the north edge has always bothered me. From an architectural standpoint it looks unresolved to me, what with the utilitarian guard rails peeking above the parapet.


GF Terrace (Flickr: Conan Butcher)

I have always regarded this wall as an unserved stage for some theatre and nothing conveys the excitement and anticipation of international travel better than an animated solari board. Theatrics side, a solari board would be a huge improvement on the existing LCD departure boards which are, frankly, just too small to follow from the comfort of your seat.


Solari board (Flickr: Tim Schreier)

Taking this theme one step forward, let's engage in C21st technology. An alternative to the Solari board might be a full size digital animated wall. Displaying the right balance of content is a tricky one but nonetheless a perfect challenge for the nation's innovative young creatives. Off the top of my head, I quite like the idea of relaying HD video of the airport activity, neatly embellished with live data relating to each aircraft captured in frame - where it is going, and where it has flown in from etc. Perhaps some closeup live footage of ground operations (following a captain's visual inspection of his Boeing for example) would bring some small airport charm to the big airport environment. Could be pretty cool if done right.


The Champagne bar:
Located at the north-west side of the lounge, this area, the coffee house area and the space in-between appears unloved to me. Has anyone here actually chosen to sit here? No? Anyone? Me thinks this area desperately needs to be rethought, if only to improve space utilisation and reduce congestion elsewhere in the lounge. This area might be improved if it was repurposed as a relaxation zone. Add some z-bed pods complete with storage, power/data, and personal task lighting and we could be onto a winner.


My wish list isn't exhaustive by any means but I hope it serves as a discussion starter. So as you've travelled the world, are there any particular attributes of other lounges that you'd like to see at T5?

David-A

I know you are talking internals, but just to get it out the way:
Remove the need to go downstairs only to go back up again.

However, personally: Keep the cloud working, and well serviced. I like it every single time I pass it, and a non-functioning dot really bothers me. Makes up for the up/down business.

Prospero

Set aside the minutiae for now. Let's have your big picture thinking

HIDDY

If this is the area you're talking about then I think it is a waste of space and underutilised. Might be a good place for a 'quiet zone' for your solus chairs?



The terrace area is my least favourite part of the lounge. It feels soulless to me and needs livening up a bit.

db7

The CX Solus chairs never seem very popular when I have been in the Cabin. Last time at about 8.30 a.m. the other side of reception was packed out but no-one was using the chairs. The ordinary chair pairs between the Solus chairs and teh window were however being used.

Sixth Freedom

A few thoughts from me...

Gentlemens' lavatories - J&F

* Substitute at least 50% of sit-down units with urinals
* Fit stalls rather than separate rooms for sit-down units
* Marble flooring, walls and sink mounts.

Showers - J&F

* Substitute white plastic walls for blue mosaic tiling
* Substitute white plastic seat for wood unit
* Substitute blue lino floor with rough stone.

Sanctuary - J&F

I would welcome a Sanctuary-style room with recliner seats and bright but narrowly directed reading lights.

Kids play area - common

Install a large play area with climbing frames, ball pools etc... on the open space outside of the Galleries Club North.

Ice - J&F

Embody machines providing fresh ice (large, cold chunks) in drinks service areas.

Floral displays - J&F

It would be nice to see more floral displays around the place.

Sommelier's choice - F

I envisage a bar with an ever-changing list of guest wines and spirits where passengers can experience drinks they have never had the chance to sample before

Specimen F & CW seats - common

It could be good business to install some specimen F and CW seats in an area where CE travellers or Silvers travelling in Economy can see why they should pay for CW next time, or indeed why pax travelling in CW should pay for F.

Just imagine the women-folk seeing them ... "Daddy/Darling ... next time we must go in these seats!" ... "Erm..." ... "D A D D Y / D A R L I N G"

The seats could be installed in the large space outside the entrances so economy passengers can also experience them.

Games room - F

I would consider substituting the unused area in F for a top-notch games room enclosed to avoid noise pollution. The games room would include arcade games, pool and air hockey.

windowontheAside

Broadly speaking I like the atmosphere of GF. I think the seating could be less blocky and offer more privacy - or at least have an area with pod style seating.

I'd also like to see a large part designated as a quiet zone. Or to be more accurate, have a dedicated phone call zone (perhaps in that dead space noted above), so that people who have to make calls can drown each other out while leaving the rest of us in relative peace. Maybe some kind of little booths?

T8191

Another "FIRST" thread … I'll wait to see if Galleries get a look in.

Come on, Prospero - couldn't you have done them all at once?

FenLandK

^ Needs a thread title change....

Prospero

To aid the discussion, i've extracted the plans from the pdf file linked on post 1.


Concorde Room


Galleries First


Galleries Club South


Galleries Club North


Galleries Club in Satellite B


Galleries Arrivals

sg17463

Couldn't agree more. Its just daft that the gents toilets are all cubicles with no urinals. They are constantly always full, and you end up queuing for ages to get in one.

I've found out that its actually quicker to leave the lounge, go down the escalators to the public toilets (where they do have urinals), use them, and them come back upstairs to re-enter the lounge. That's just stupid.

FenLandK

Bit late now, but they could have got BAA to sort out the ridiculous lift and escalator situation to get to Galleries Club South. No way to get a lift all the way to the top, and the escalators you have to do that daft "round and back" manoeuvre. I know Troika is nice and all that, but having the up escalators just "reverse" back up to the top floor would make life so much easier. It would give more usable space for GF too.

Prospero

Fair comment. I wanted to start the thread as a constructive critique. While I do also frequent the GC North, writing a constructive critique of that lounge is errr, more demanding on my creative energy

Of note, the toilets in the T3 Galleries First do have urinals, neatly grouped inside its own room and accessed from the unisex toilet lobby.

FenLandK

My comments are purely on GC South...

• Sort out that area to the left of the cinema that has large pillars AND seating in it. It's a right struggle to navigate through there sometimes, especially as that end of the lounge is usually a little quieter once you are through the maze
• Have some slightly higher seating with tables, a bit like what you might find in a pub, rather than all of the lower bench or armchairs. I know there are the benches in the middle and in the middle Coffee House area, but when eating or in discussions with colleagues it would be nicer to have a full size table to work/eat around. I think it would also allow for more seating or a greater area in between them.
• More 'solo' areas, as Prospero mentions about GF above. I'd like to bet that quite a lot of lounge occupants are solo travellers, so having a space where you could plug in the laptop/iPad charger, as well as have a table and a comfortable chair would mean fewer occasions where you find one person at a group of 4 chairs. AMS has some quite good solo 'pods' behind Starbucks at the entrance to F and G pier (I think)
• Better signage within the lounge. I pretty much know where everything is now by trial and error, but many people probably don't know there is an ice cream freezer in the lounge, let alone where it is located

hch

My biggest wishlist item for the GC lounges would be workdesks for people bringing their own laptops.