For today's international travellers, one of great debates about airports is, beyond operational efficiency, what else can we expect beyond the small differences to distinguish one from the other. To me, Beijing Airport in many ways looks very much like Hong Kong's ambitious Chek Lap Kok Airport. There is no reason for this but the obvious: that both of them were designed by Sir Norman Foster.
 

I will come back to this later. Now, let’s reverse the clock to three hours before departing Hong Kong's shores.
 

The reason for this trip to Beijing was to visit The Opposite House, also our gracious host. But the journey of inspiration didn’t begin in Beijing, but on home shores.
 

Flying with Dragonair, we were privileged enough to also visit the premium lounge ‘The Cabin’ for Cathay Pacific, which recently opened by Gate 23 on the central concourse at Hong Kong International Airport, to accommodate both first and business class passengers.
 

When told that the design was led by Foster + Partners, I couldn’t help but think Sir Norman must be someone who really loves everything about air travel. I know he himself is a pilot; perhaps that’s the reason he put his heart into devising the best solution for the design of the new lounge.
 

Sleek, well-planned and hassle-free, the luxurious touches apparent at the lounge are discreet and quiet, perhaps to give passengers peace of mind. Separated into five zones — Reception, IT, Deli, Health Bar and Relaxing — the 1,339 sq-ft space is linearly arranged, with a long red carpet which runs parallel to the floor-to-ceiling windows of the terminal building, creating an unrivalled sense of welcome.
 

Sitting myself on the Cathay Solus Chair and enjoying the airside views through the banks of windows flooded by daylight, I was granted supreme privacy to enjoy my breakfast. The chair, with its hourglass form rising from a circular base, is designed around passengers’ needs, providing a space in which to eat, work, read or simply relax, as I did.
 

The arrival experience at Beijing Airport was, as mentioned, inspiring but with a somewhat unexpected sense of familiarity. This is, certainly, the beauty of modern airports — that travellers can find it easy to find their way around them.
 

Completed as a gateway to the city for athletes participating in the 29^th Olympiad, from terminal to concourse, every arrangement is first-class. Like Chek Lap Kok, the terminal is open to views to the outside and planned under a single unifying roof canopy, whose linear skylights are both an aid to orientation and sources of daylight – the colour cast changing from red to yellow as passengers progress through the building.
 

Although sharing similar design features with Chek Lap Kok, Beijing Airport’s aerodynamic roof and dragon-like form celebrate the thrill of flight and evokes traditional Chinese colours and symbols — and were also the reason that prompted me to look for more.
 

Walking to catch the inter-terminal train, the glass façade gradually draws in the red columns that wrap the airport building, confirming once again the Chinese architectural features that distinguish the airport from the rest. The power of this visual impact (subtle as it was) was incalculable. I've already admitted in a previous blog that I'm a reluctant traveller to China, but thanks to Sir Norman's vision, I was now eagerly looking forward to seeing Beijing itself... More of that soon.