London-based Softroom has designed a flowing, ribbon-like wall for Turkish Airlines, to guide passengers to the airline’s lounges at Istanbul New Airport.
At over a kilometer long, the Flow Wall is one of the longest parametric interior forms in the world, knitting together 19,000m² (204,510ft²) of lounges.
The wall was inspired by the lightness and dynamism of air travel, according to Softroom. It is contemporary and dynamic, and its surface has a natural quality, intending to bring warmth and character to the spaces that it encloses.
To achieve this, complex forms were realized in a plywood structure, skinned in strips of bleached oak. The surface is divided by seven flowing lines, representing how Turkish Airlines connect the continents of the world. Light is also used to increase intuitive wayfinding. Flow lines in the wall itself are animated by over 5.5km (3.5 miles) of programmable LED lighting that can pulse or glow when needed, and overhead strips of lighting at the lower levels follow the contours of particular routes, reflecting off the highly polished floor.