This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Unusual Planning Duel Over Kennedy Terminal November 28, 2002 By DAVID W. DUNLAP THE 40th anniversary of Eero Saarinen's breathtaking T.W.A. Flight Center at Kennedy International Airport was marked this year in an unusual way. No cake. No candles. Just lights out. The terminal was shut down. Whether it ever reopens - and how it will be used if it does - is at stake in a planning duel with a curious twist. Airport authorities say the sinuous, sculptural building might find new life as a restaurant, conference center or museum. Preservationists say it should stay an airline terminal. In fact, the Municipal Art Society is proposing the addition of new concourses and gates to the landmark Saarinen structure, an expansion that would require the demolition of the former National Airlines Sundrome nearby, a less celebrated but still distinguished building designed by I. M. Pei. "This preserves Saarinen's ideas of entry and vista," said Frank E. Sanchis III, executive director of the society, speaking of a conceptual plan prepared by H3 Architecture. "The integrity of his vision is maintained." Theo Prudon, the president of Docomomo U.S., which concerns itself with the conservation of modern architecture, said, "For a building like this to be viable - viable both philosophically and, frankly, economically - it has to have an airline use." When preservationists urge that a building's intent and function be safeguarded along with its physical shell, and when some of them are prepared to trade a Pei for a Saarinen, one can safely say that a corner has been turned. Even in a building where you'd be hard pressed to find a corner. Unlike the battle over Pennsylvania Station, which reached a climax in 1962 just as the T.W.A. Flight Center opened, there is no proposal on the table to demolish the structure, at least not the main building, now designated Terminal 5, with its spread-eagle concrete roof and tubular corridors. "We remain committed to protecting Terminal 5," said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, "and enhancing its role as an airport centerpiece." But the authority is also adamant that a terminal designed in an era of Constellations and built at the dawn of the 707 jetliner is "inadequate to meet passenger, baggage and security standards required for contemporary aviation operations." No airline has stepped forward to request the terminal since American Airlines abandoned it in January, Mr. DiFulco said. (Trans World Airlines ended operations there in October 2001 after it was acquired by American.) The future outlined by the authority involves an enormous new C-shaped terminal around the Saarinen building, for the use of several airlines, JetBlue Airways among them. The number of gates would grow to 51 from the current 37. The Saarinen building would be rehabilitated. But it would also be cut off, physically and visually, from the aircraft and view of the taxiways and runways. The two remote gate areas, one of which is covered by the city's landmark designation, would be demolished. The connector tubes would then join the new terminal to the Saarinen building. Exactly how the Saarinen building would be adapted has yet to be determined. The Port Authority plans to issue a request for proposals in the coming months. It must also demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration that there are no prudent, feasible alternatives to its redevelopment plan, under a federal law known as Section 4(f) requiring that transportation projects do not adversely affect historic sites. This has given the Municipal Art Society some leverage in the process. It submitted its counterproposal to the F.A.A. last month. "We think it's feasible and prudent," said Vicki Weiner, director of historic preservation at the society. Drawn up by Hal Hayes of H3 and four airport planners, the plan would preserve the remote gate areas, from which new concourses would telescope. It would append a large new structure to one end of the Saarinen building, with another concourse. All told, it would create 52 gates. LIKE the Port Authority plan, it would require the demolition of the former Sundrome, now Terminal 6, which is used by JetBlue. The authority has only recently received the Municipal Art Society plan and is not yet prepared to respond publicly, Mr. DiFulco said. While many landmarks no longer serve their original purpose, there is something satisfying about those that do, from City Hall to Grand Central Terminal. Grand Central may be an instructive analogy to the T.W.A. Flight Center. After all, it is no longer the "Gateway to a Continent" but a suburban commuter rail station. That does not make it any less imposing or vital. No amount of nostalgia will bring back the days of dressing up for air travel and eating in-flight meals with silverware. But travelers could still revel in Saarinen's soaring spaces. The question is, where would they go from there? http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/28/nyregion/28BLOC.html?ex=1039499259&ei=1&en=32ee172ce4ddadc0 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company