Project designers were concerned not only with the aesthetics, but also with durability and long-term maintenance costs, said Ken Koziol, senior design manager at Northwest Airlines. To achieve their goals, designers turned to the classic look of ceramic tile.
Although carpet is a common flooring material for airport designs, the design team believed that tiling could much better withstand the high pedestrian and other traffic a terminal must endure, while also providing a stylish and contemporary look. The Detroit plans called for tiling throughout the interior and exterior of the four-level, mile-long terminal, as well as in a 900-foot tunnel connecting the new terminal to the existing facility. In fact, the Northwest WorldGateway project involved the application of more than 1 million square feet of tile.