JHP flies high with expanded interiors remit at Toulouse Airport

JHP is designing the interiors of Toulouse Airport’s new Terminal D, which is scheduled to open in March 2009. The London design group is also branding and planning the terminal’s retail space.

JHP clinched the contract in October, following a four-way credentials pitch in July. Last week the airport expanded the consultancy’s design remit to include branding the retail area in Terminal C.

JHP is conferring with the terminal’s architect Cardete & Huet on the 1600m2 airside retail and seating area. The design group had decided against traditional airport seating in favour of sofas and easy chairs, to lend the lounge a coffee shop feel. The shops will be arranged in a horse-shoe shape around the seating area.

‘Our design will complement the architect’s vision to form a contemporary shopping space,’ says JHP marketing manager Austin McGinley. ‘There will be no harking back to the past in our design. We are still exploring the choice of materials for finishes, but we are definitely using modern, shiny surfaces.’

JHP is also planning a pink light installation that it hopes will lead passengers between shopping spaces in Terminals D and C. ‘This is our nod to traditional Toulouse, which is known as the pink city,’ says McGinley.

Possible names for Terminal D include La Place Toulouse. This would form the basis of branding that would appear on shopping bags, wayfinding and information points throughout the terminal. JHP is still considering how to brand Terminal C.