The design aspirations of most airports are lavished on great departure halls. But with the advent of satellite terminals, aggregations of gates have become places in their own right. Having been subjected to increasingly invasive searches and security protocols, passengers are simultaneously quarantined and treated to these terminals. While huge amounts of design ambition continues to be heaped on departure areas, satellite terminals have gradually usurped them in importance. This thesis is an exploration of the satellite terminal and the renewed importance of the gate area. It uses this exploration to delve into the relationship between Marc Augé's 'non-place' and Ray Oldenburg's 'third place,' contending that the latter, in the form of the satellite terminal, compensates for the former, which is associated primarily with processing and regulation.