Close Encounters at LAX

Written By Sean Adams

Paul Williams, LAX Theme Building, 1961

Back in the ’90s (not the 1890s), AdamsMorioka was asked by Eddie Sotto at Walt Disney Imagineering to help out with the design of the Encounter Restaurant. This restaurant is in the Theme Building at LAX; the building in the center of the airport that looks like a giant flying saucer. Recently the entire building was renovated and the scaffolding that’s shrouded its spider-like legs will soon be removed for first time in almost two years.

I have no idea why it’s called the Theme Building. If it were the “Space-Age Theme Building,” or “Tiki Theme Building” it would make sense, but generic “Theme Building” seems open to misinterpretation.

Paul Williams designed the building in 1961 as part of the overall airport redesign. Williams was a genius architect that defined the Los Angeles style of the 1950s and 1960s. It may be easy to write the building off as Googie or Jetsons-esque, but it’s an elegant structure and the only thing at LAX that isn’t stressful or depressing.

We worked with Eddie on the graphic components of the project. It was a wonderful collaboration. At the time, the 1967 version of Tomorrowland was being refurbished. This made us sad. We believed the 1967 Tomorrowland to be the highest achievement in the history of civilization. So, we decided to rescue some of our favorite elements with type design, materials, and color.

Easy Listening music from the Peoplemover was in the elevators. There was a Martian and Lunar wall to honor Mission to Mars and Mission to the Moon. The drink gun made Tomorrowland sounds when pressed. Even the color palette was pulled from the tile behind the counter at Coca Cola Terrace.

The space age theme is infused into the experience, and we worked hard to find avenues to express this in every part of the project. Bathrooms can be rather dull, and I had a wonderful idea to install the rubber gloves that are used for radioactive isolation boxes in the wall between the men’s room and women’s room.

This would allow the guest to put his or her hands through the gloves and touch someone on the other side. Neither party would know who was on the other end. Of course, some meetings when leaving the restroom would be awkward. Oddly, this idea was not realized.


Sean Adams

Sean Adams is the Dean of Visual Art and Communication at ArtCenter, founder of Burning Settlers Cabin studio, and on-screen author for LinkedIn Learning/Lynda.com He is the only two term AIGA national president in AIGA’s 100 year history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He is an AIGA Fellow, and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been recognized by every major competition and publication including; How, Print, Step, Communication Arts, Graphis, AIGA, The Type Directors Club, The British Art Director’s Club, and the Art Director’s Club. Adams has been exhibited often, including a solo exhibition at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Adams is an author of multiple magazine columns, and several best-selling books. He has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner at AdamsMorioka, whose clients included The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Disney, Mohawk Fine Papers, The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Richard Meier & Partners, Sundance, and the University of Southern California.

www.burningsettlerscabin.com
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