What’s one thing you wish you could find in an airport – but don’t have much hope of getting?
If you said “peace and quiet,” Frankfurt International Airport hears you. And it wants you to hear… silence.
If you’ve ever been in Frankfurt International Airport, you might be surprised at this. It’s one of the world’s busiest flight hubs – more than 60 million passengers pass through it each year.
But now, in Terminal 1, on level 3 near gate Z11, it has a Quiet Room.
Fraport AG, the company that owns Frankfurt International Airport, has listened to Harry Gatterer, who leads the Zukunftsinstitut (“Future Institute”) in Frankfurt and Vienna. “In the 21st century,” Gatterer says, “we are constantly bombarded by masses of information and bathed in the glow of screens with hardly a break. The so-called information society is now reacting to this overkill with a countertrend: mindfulness. The principle of ‘strength in serenity’ has never before been so relevant.”
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A golden glow draws you in. It comes from the room’s gold-plated undulating ceiling as it reflects soft, multi-source lighting. The air is suffused with calm as you sit on the simple oak bench – or simply stand and breathe in the peace.
The atmosphere of the room changes with the weather and time of day: the darker it is outside, the warmer and more golden the room becomes. It’s simply a spectacular and uplifting space.
And it’s neutral. It has no images, no cultural or religious characteristics that might make it less welcoming for some people than for others. Regardless of your worldview or your cultural or religious affiliation, it welcomes you in to pass a few moments in quiet rest and contemplation.
And when you come out… you’re ready to take flight!
More places you can get some quiet at airports
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