For the most part, the only reason anyone goes to an airport is to leave as quickly as possible.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
The most innovative airports understand that flying can be a profoundly stressful experience, so they use technology, architecture, psychology, and design to minimize that burden.
That can mean building an indoor rainforest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; a wave pool in Munich, Germany; or a rooftop dog park in Queens, New York.
The sky's the limit.
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JFK International Airport. New York, New York.
Earlier this summer, architecture firm Gensler — the company behind many of the most innovative airports on our list — finished construction on a post-security rooftop park at JFK's JetBlue terminal. While the lush green gives stressed-out humans a way to decompress between flights, it also solves a logistical problem for pets.
Prior to the construction of the park, passengers traveling with pets would have to go back through security so their animals could go to the bathroom. Now they can go on the roof.
JetBlue also recently opened a farm that will grow 2,000 different types of herbs, plants, and produce. The crops will help feed diners in the airport's restaurants and go toward local food pantries.
Changi Airport. Airport Blvd, Singapore.
Like most of Singapore, the city-state's Changi Airport, designed by SAA, is fully equipped to act as a giant sponge.
Instead of letting rainwater trickle into storm drains, where it's later deposited in rivers and oceans, the airport catches its rainwater for short-term recycling and longer-term storage. Roofs are outfitted with pipes that move the water to underground tanks.
Changi Airport, voted the best airport in the world in 2015, is also a layover paradise. The airport features free video games, places to shower, film screenings, a nap facility, and a swimming pool. It has a butterfly garden and offers passengers with longer layovers free tours of Singapore.
Outside, the airport maintains a stunning cactus garden and multiple green spaces for much-needed nature therapy between flights.
Incheon International Airport. Seoul, South Korea.
With its myriad shops, restaurants, and attractions, Incheon Airport functions more like a tiny city than your ordinary airport. It was voted the second-best airport in 2015, just behind Singapore's Changi Airport.
Unlike a lot of airports with local travelers, Incheon Airport is "very lightly used by the residents in Seoul," says Ty Osbaugh, principal and architect at Gensler (the architecture firm behind the airport).
That's because people tend to use the airport more as a connection before flying somewhere else. As a result, they often have lots of unplanned time.
It's home to (big breath) free showers, medical services, a post office, dry cleaning service, salons, two movie theaters, golf course, ice rink, casino, culture museum, and 90 duty-free shops.
As Osbaugh explains, the effect is that transfers are no longer separate from the trip. If all goes according to Gensler's plan, he says, the airport "starts to become a memorable part of your journey."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider