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- [Narrator] If you've
ever flown through JFK,

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you may have noticed the
huge abandoned building

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right smack in the middle of the airport.

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That would be the TWA Flight Center.

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A once beautiful terminal
that was shut down

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after TWA went out of business.

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But for the past decade,

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it's been under massive renovations.

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The goal?

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To restore the architectural gem

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to its former glory.

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(upbeat music)

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- It's really one of the most
important buildings in America

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It was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962,

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built by Howard Hughes.

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He said to Eero Saarinen,

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"I want you to build me the
greatest airport terminal

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"the world's ever seen, and I
don't care how much it costs".

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- This is the sexiest
building on the planet.

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It is so stunning.

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Saarinen is like a God in
the architectural realm.

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- [Katharine] When I visited
the site, the sweeping design,

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combined with the building's sheer size,

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made it feel like a cathedral
dedicated to aviation.

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But the X-factor is going
to be in the details.

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- It's a full restoration
of the Saarinen building

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to exactly as it was in 1962.

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- So when you say exactly
as it was in 1962,

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I mean, how literal are we talking here?

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- Everything but the cigarette smoke.

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- [Katharine] (laughs) That's good.

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- We're bringing everything
back, the uniforms,

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the penny tile, the
Ethos, the sunken lounge,

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the swooping tubes where Catch
Me If You Can was filmed.

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You're gonna feel like
you walked into 1962.

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- This is where passengers back in the day

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would sit and wait for
their flights to arrive.

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- The building has been dark for 20 years.

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It was in pretty rough shape.

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It was filled with asbestos,

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it was filled with lead paint,

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so it cost about $65 million

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just to get to the starting line.

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- [Katharine] Also,
take into consideration

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that doing construction in the middle

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of an international airport

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is a challenge in and of itself.

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In total, the project will
cost a quarter billion dollars,

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and a lot of that is due to the original,

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complex, design elements.

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- There are no right angles
in the entire building.

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Everything is on a curve.

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The only flat surfaces in the building

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are the ceilings and the floors.

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That's why they had to
use the round penny tiles.

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- They call it penny
tile because of the size,

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it almost looks like a penny.

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But it was designed for this building

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because of all the curvature
and the shape of the lobby.

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- How many penny tiles?
- Millions.

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- Okay, millions.

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- I couldn't even
fathom. It is everywhere.

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- Everywhere!

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The original TWA Flight Center

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will serve as the gigantic hotel lobby,

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while the rooms themselves will be in two,

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brand new connected buildings,

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and when you're designing a hotel

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that's literally on an airport runway,

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you have to consider the noise.

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- The curtain wall is made
of seven layers of glass,

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two layers on the outside,
then it's got an air cavity,

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then it's got three
layers that are laminated,

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then another air cavity,
and then two more layers

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that are laminated for the interior.

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And those air cavities
are actually what mitigate

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the deep boom, that low frequency noise,

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that comes when they take off,

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those engines, those jet engines.

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- [Erik] This is gonna be the
world's quietest hotel room.

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- Five inches thick, wow.

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And it's facing out, so
people will be able to see

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planes landing, I imagine.

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There will be 512 guest
rooms in the TWA Hotel,

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starting at $250 a night,

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and already the demand has been high.

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- We booked a wedding a few weeks ago,

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that is a Delta pilot marrying
a Southwest flight attendant,

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and they postponed their
wedding for a full year

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because they want to get
married in this building.

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- [Katharine] So is this really

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gonna be done in the spring?

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- Yes, we are taking off
in the late spring of 2019.

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- [Katharine] Oh boy.

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The first guest will spend the night

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on May 15th of this year.

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There is still a lot of work to be done,

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but Tyler doesn't seem to be worried.

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- No, I'm so excited about it.

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Listen, I skip to work everyday.

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This is a ton of fun.

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You know, there's plenty of challenges,

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but we can see the finish line.

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(playful music)