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For the road-weary business traveler,
an airport lounge should be a welcome sight, bright, cozy, amply stocked and equipped with the latest in
technology - an oasis of calm and efficiency amidst the bustle of the airport.
Philippine Airlines'
hopes its new Domestic Mabuhay Lounge at its NAIA Centennial Terminal 2 hub
will fit the bill. Thoroughly redesigned and refurbished by noted interior
designers Ivy and Cynthia Almario, the 269-square-meter facility
recently reopened its doors to patrons.
It was formally dedicated on July 15, 2005 by Tourism Secretary Joseph H.
Durano, NAIA general manager Alfonso Cusi and PAL president Jaime J. Bautista.
"The new Mabuhay Lounge represents the best that PAL has to offer," said Bautista. "We undertook this project despite challenging times in our industry. It
underscores our commitment to our premium customers, who have come to expect a superior product from PAL."
For those familiar with the old
Mabuhay lounge, walking into the redesigned version is likely to bring on the "wow"
factor. The differences are stark. Gone are the serious gray color scheme, clunky accessories and cramped layout.
In, are buoyant taupe and beige tones, functional furniture, creative layout and art-gallery-type framed photographs of Philippine destinations adorning the walls.
It wasn't easy redoing the lounge. Tucked away at the basement level of the terminal (it was the only available space in the original blueprint), the space was a designer's
nightmare.
"Our major challenges were the low ceiling and the fact that there were hardly any windows," says Ivy Almario. "It was claustrophobic."
Her sister and design partner Cynthia recalls the old lounge set-up in equally morose
ways, "I always felt like stooping whenever I entered the place. I felt cramped, like
the ceiling was closing in on me. And it was dark, too."
The first thing the sisters did was rip out the gray carpet. "We chose heavy-duty nylon with hints of taupe, a neutral color that is just dark enough to hide dirt but also
light enough to have some reflective characteristics. It 'lifts' the space,"
said Ivy.
They also had the walls painted in taupe and took out the drab venetian blinds that shielded the small windows. In its place now is a sheer shade that allows natural light
to filter in.
The Almarios then set about reconfiguring the buffet and refreshments area, perhaps the busiest part of the lounge. Where before the food table was stacked artlessly
against the wall, thus restricting the flow of people, the designers opted this time for an innovative, hotel coffeeshop-style "island" table set-up.
"We space-planned it in such a way that the buffet table 'floats' in the middle of the room and people simply move around it as they pick their snacks. The PAL chefs are
quite happy with this set-up as it really shows off the food. Now, everything is happening around the buffet table."
To provide a visual foil to the hive of activity in the refreshments area, the Almarios introduced a more stable design feature - shelf dividers - which also have the sensible
effect of blocking off the section of the lounge where patrons preferred to read, watch TV or catch a nap.
"The dividers serve as a focal element so that the eye doesn't wander when you enter the lounge,"
explained Ivy. "They serve as a visual anchor; without them, the lounge will look like a cafeteria."
The dividers serve a functional purpose,
too, they are the ideal place to put newspapers, other reading materials and accessories like objets d'art.
The Almarios also plan to embellish the shelves' glass panels with transparent images of Philippine destinations as a way of highlighting local tourism.
Beyond the aesthetics, the Mabuhay Lounge comes equipped with some of the most useful amenities for business travelers. It has a business center with telephones,
fax machine and personal computers with free, unlimited Internet access.
It boasts Wi-Fi
Internet access for patrons bringing their own laptop computers, and a complimentary Wi-Fi access card for the first 20
minutes' use.
Those who prefer to sit back and relax can repair to that corner of the lounge where a 42-inch plasma-screen TV set with satellite broadcast sits.
And for the truly road-weary, a quick-massage service is available.
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