Uncovering the design secrets behind Cathay Pacific’s new business class lounge

“Designing a large airport lounge is a bit like designing a town,” says interior designer Ilse Crawford of Studioilse. “It’s just like the busy roads and smaller, slower lanes across the city.”

Her concept for Cathay Pacific Airways’ recently refurbished 33,000 sq ft business class lounge at the Hong Kong International Airport features long corridors with distinct spaces that connect with smaller “lanes” designed to make it quicker and easier for travellers to find their own space within the lounge.

“Each room is a room on its own, but you also need to know where you are in the architecture,” Crawford says.

The design is part of a wider renovation of the airline’s lounges around the world using a similar material palette while adding local elements, such as Japanese woven bamboo lampshades in Tokyo, and works by local artists. So far, lounges in Tokyo, Manila, Bangkok, Taipei, Vancouver and the Pier first class lounge in Hong Kong have been refreshed.

Crawford, who is based in London, says her early design research observing how travellers use the spaces at airport lounges around the world showed the importance of understanding that the same confined space is expected to function seamlessly from day to night, accommodating different activities, from travellers looking for a quick bite, to work or relax and recharge before a holiday.

Given the vast scale of the newest business class lounge project, Crawford says it was especially important to devise an intuitive layout that would provide a direct route through lively, sociable spaces, such as a food hall offering grab-and-go options, standing tables or shared tables and benches, a bar area and signature noodle bar.