Cleveland Hopkins Airport provides many opertunities to study culture. The goal was to observe people and how they interacted with others. Due to time constraints and scheduling conflicts, the observation time was limited to Wednesday February 3^rd, 1999 from 10:00 PM till 11:30 PM. The chosen location was the main lobby for Departures at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (see Passenger Terminal Map). The space is about 100 feet by 100 feet with chairs arranged in a pattern of 28 chairs (see diagram "Chairs"). Sections of chairs, which usually contained 4 chairs, where spaced at least 10 feet apart. The lobby is brightly lit from a very high ceiling, with each cluster of lights hanging over a section of chairs. The floor is covered in a marble pattern of white, brown, and grays. The chairs are purple and cushioned excepted for the plastic armrests. The two chairs are paired with a shared middle armrest. In the center of the lobby is a large bouquet of colorful plants, the bouquet being about 4 feet in diameter.

For this study, I choose to take a seat in the center, along an isle. My disguise was my work attire: black suit and tie, white shirt, black overcoat, and a bag that screamed "Inside is a notebook!" I was able to pass for a waiting businessman working on a laptop. Observations such as male, female, and times they got up and sat down were noted on the laptop. As people sat down or got up, the location they where in and the time was noted.

Upon initial arrival to the lobby, I noted 3 men already sitting. One man was in the north west corner facing east. This man stayed in his spot for the entire study. The other two men were employees wearing the same uniform and they sat in the same section, although not in the same row. Their location was southwest. Other people wondered over and the following is the noted log:

Male

Sat: 10:18 north east Up: 10:38

Sat: 10:20 east Up: 10:52 Note: 2 men sat in same section, but not in the same row.

Sat: 10:25 north Up: 10:26

Up: 10:26 Note: 1 employee leaves, other takes his seat

Up: 10:46 Sat: 10:53 south west Note: Last employee gets up and comes back to the same seat.

Female

Sat: 10:36 south east Up: 10:47 Note: Employee

At 10:36 PM when the woman sat down, all chair sections were filled until 10:38 PM.

Around 10:36 in the evening a pattern had emerged for chair preferences. People chose a chair section that did not contain any people. Another pattern emerged when two men decide to hold a discussion and sit. In two instances, the two male employees and the two men that sat at 10:20 PM chose to sit in the same section, but not together. They chose to sit across from the other person. In both cases, the men kept at least a three-foot distance. It is interesting to note the ratio of men that sat down to women, which were 7 men compared to 1 woman.

The first time I passed through the lobby, I did not plan to observe the people there. But I did not recognize the chair configuration mainly because I was geared for going down one of the concourses. Due to the large room, and plenty of space between chair sections, I did not pay attention to the lobby's dynamics. The lobby is used as a passage and a waiting area. As a passage area, there is enough room for people to walk across without disturbing people in the chairs, yet there are several paths that can be taken to get through the room. The chair sections were far apart, and walkways wide so the lobby could be sociofugal, but the chair spacing in each section produces a sociopetal space. Due to time constraints, large groups containing more then two people were not available for study, but presumably the sociopetal configuration of the chair sections would allow a family or group of friends to sit close to each other. The Hopkins Airport lobby is designed to do what it is supposed to - provide an interesting passageway, yet provide space for strangers and families to wait.