Thanks to “The Golf Explorer” Magazine for featuring the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) and its Viewing Park, which was designed by MMA, in their 2019 edition! ## The GFIA Viewing Park, owned by the airport and located at 4820 KraftAvenue SE in Grand Rapids, has served as a popular place for local residents, families, visitors, and aviation enthusiasts alike since it first opened in 1995. Initially a park featuring a long, serpentine-shaped parking lot and cul-de-sac with picnic tables where visitors could capture the drama of flight as planes roared down the East-West runway, the site has been transformed and elevated with a simple, yet carefully detailed structure designed by Mathison | Mathison Architects, or MMA, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “This goes back to the primary kind of architecture: it is shelter. It has columns, the building is telling you what it is doing, it is directing rain, and it has this kind of purity as a structure,” said Ben Franceschi, architect at MMA. MMA, a full-service architectural firm grounded in modernism, is a practice striving to deliver projects that embrace its site, enrich its surrounding environment, and provide meaningful authentic experiences. Thomas R. Mathison, FAIA, principal and […]