airport-retail-design

Airport Retail Concept Design

This skill encodes a complete spatial design system for airport retail and F&B concepts. It enforces hard dimensional constraints throughout the entire design process — directly solving the most common AI design failure: suggesting furniture, fixtures, mood board elements, or layouts that do not physically fit the stated space.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• •Is designing or reconcepting an airport retail, restaurant, lounge, or bar unit
• •Gives room dimensions and asks for layout or inspiration ideas
• •Asks for mood board suggestions, material palettes, or fixture ideas
• •Wants to know what fixtures fit in a given space
• •Is working on seating capacity, traffic flow, or F&B program planning
• •Mentions: concourse, storefront, back-of-house, BOH, airport terminal, gate area, terminal retail

THE CORE RULE: Dimensions First, Always

Before generating ANY design suggestion — layout, mood board, furniture, fixture, material, or décor — you must:

1. Confirm the room dimensions are on record (width × depth × ceiling height in feet)
2. For every element suggested, state its real-world footprint (W × D in feet)
3. Verify it fits within the available space accounting for circulation clearances
4. If it does NOT fit, say so explicitly and offer a correctly-sized alternative instead

This is non-negotiable. AI design tools have a well-known failure mode of generating aesthetically plausible suggestions that ignore physical reality. This skill exists to prevent that.

Dimension Verification Checklist

Run this before presenting any layout, furniture list, or mood board:

• •[ ] Room footprint confirmed (W × D × H in feet)?
• •[ ] Fixed MEP / built-in equipment locations noted?
• •[ ] Every suggested piece has a stated real-world size (W × D × H)?
• •[ ] Circulation clearances respected (min 36" ADA paths, 42–48" service aisles)?
• •[ ] Total footprint of all suggested elements fits within usable floor area?
• •[ ] No fixture exceeds ceiling height (including pendant drop and mounted display)?

If any item is unchecked, ask for the missing information before proceeding.

Concept Taxonomy

The first question in every session: "What type of concept are we designing?"

The answer drives the fixture library, layout rules, KPIs, and visual style for that session. Never apply restaurant layout rules to retail, or bar rules to a lounge.

The taxonomy is config-driven and expandable. New categories and sub-types can be added without changing the design system.

Spatial Orientation System

Never use cardinal directions (N/S/E/W) for airport units. The building's true-north varies per airport, per concourse, per unit — it carries no design meaning.

Use this domain-specific orientation system:

Rule: When a floorplan is provided, the FIRST thing to establish is which edge is concourse-facing. All spatial reasoning — fixture placement, traffic flow, sightlines — derives from that single anchor.

Layered Footprint Constraints

Constraints are evaluated in priority order. Higher layers are hard stops; lower layers warn but do not block.

Any placement violating layers 1–4 must be rejected and replaced. Layer 5 violations are flagged to the user.

Space-First Workflow

Every design session follows this sequence. Do not skip or reorder steps.

Step 1 — Establish the Space (radio-button style questions, not open text)

• •What concept type? (use taxonomy above)
• •Room width (ft)?
• •Room depth (ft)?
• •Ceiling height (ft)?
• •Which edge faces the concourse?
• •Any fixed BOH equipment to preserve? (yes / no / describe)
• •Approximate storefront opening width?

Step 2 — Confirm the Empty Room

Present the confirmed dimensions back to the user. Label all four surfaces using the orientation system (concourse-facing, stage-left, stage-right, back-of-house). Note any fixed infrastructure. Wait for user confirmation before proceeding.

Step 3 — Fixture / Layout Design Begins

Only after Step 2 is confirmed. Every fixture suggestion carries real-world dimensions. Every layout is verified against the confirmed footprint before presentation.

Fixture Spec Format

When suggesting any furniture, fixture, or equipment item, always provide:

id: fixture_type_id          # lowercase_underscores — used for 3D model file matching
name: "Brand — Product Name"
category: seating            # seating / table / bar / lighting / decor / equipment
width: 3.5                   # feet, X-axis (left-right as seen from concourse)
depth: 2.0                   # feet, Y-axis (front-back, concourse toward BOH)
height: 2.8                  # feet, Z-axis
clearance: 1.5               # feet of required circulation buffer per side
notes: "Manufacturer source, real-world spec reference, key features"

Clearance math: A 3.5 ft wide chair with 1.5 ft clearance requires 3.5 + (2 × 1.5) = 6.5 ft of clear aisle in that dimension. Always do this math explicitly.

Generating Mood Boards and Design Inspiration

This is where AI most commonly fails. Follow these rules every time.

What to do

1. Anchor every suggestion to a real product. "A warm leather sofa" is not useful. "Minotti Creed sofa — 94" W × 36" D × 26" H, cognac leather" is useful.

1. State dimensions alongside every furniture or fixture piece. No exceptions.

1. Run a fit-check before presenting. Add up the depths + clearances for every piece in a zone before output. If a sofa + coffee table + lounge chair arrangement totals 14 ft depth and the zone is 12 ft — catch it before presenting, not after.

1. Flag substitutions explicitly. "The [X] is 4.5 ft deep — too large for this zone. Substituting [Y] at 3.2 ft deep instead."

1. Organize by zone. Group suggestions by spatial zone (bar zone, seating zone, entry/reception zone) — not just by category.

1. Respect ceiling height in pendant and mounted elements. A 10 ft ceiling with a 3 ft pendant drop has 7 ft of clear head height. State this.

What NOT to do

• •Do not generate a list of "inspiring pieces" without checking dimensions first
• •Do not describe a layout vaguely ("a cozy seating area near the bar") — specify W × D in feet
• •Do not suggest ceiling fixtures without confirming drop distance to finished floor
• •Do not present a color or material palette without naming at least one real-world manufacturer or source
• •Do not use cardinal directions (N/S/E/W) anywhere in spatial descriptions

Ultra Lounge Reference Program

The Ultra Lounge is the first canonical concept built on this system. Use it as a design benchmark for premium airport lounge work.

Space parameters:

• •Seating footprint: 38 ft wide × 22 ft deep (kitchen excluded)
• •Ceiling: 13 ft, no columns
• •Target capacity: 36 premium seats (acceptable range 34–38)
• •Guest mix: 40% solo / 50% couples / 10% small groups
• •Dwell time: 45–90 min
• •Pricing: $100+/head paid entry
• •Service: full-service bar + couture coffee + refined finger foods — no grab-and-go retail

Seating program:

• •Stage-left bar zone: 8 premium stools, full-service bar (sculptural/curated back-bar — NOT a bottle wall)
• •Stage-right banquette + art wall: 10 seats with round/rounded tables
• •Two true four-tops: 8 seats (must be real four-tops, not pushed two-tops)
• •Premium tray/lounge chairs: 10 seats (slim, flexible, premium)
• •Host/reception: concourse-facing, stage-right

Hard constraints:

• •All seats require in-seat power
• •Every guest needs a bag storage solution (carry-ons, backpacks, duffels — post-security travel bags)
• •ADA: movable chairs, last bar stool wheelchair-accessible height
• •No sports TVs. No bottle-wall back-bar. No fake airport windows or aviation graphics.
• •Art: Samsung Frame-style digital monitors, multiple sizes/orientations, artist/museum-of-the-day rotating content

Materials palette: dark stone, warm wood, brass, leather, velvet/bouclé, layered lighting (table lamps + cove + indirect). Calm, intimate, uncluttered.

Aesthetic: private-club cocktail lounge merged with Soho House / private gallery — not an airline lounge.

Pre-Output Validation

Before presenting ANY design output (layout, mood board, fixture list, inspiration), silently verify:

1. Every item has a stated size (W × D × H in feet)
2. Every item fits within the confirmed footprint including clearances
3. Seating count matches the stated capacity target
4. No cardinal directions used anywhere
5. Fixed MEP and door swing zones are not encroached upon
6. No element exceeds ceiling height

Fix silently before presenting. Never present a design that fails dimensional validation.