The psychology of wanting to go straight to the gate as quickly as possible is 100% undeniable, foreseeable, and unchangeable.  Anyone with common sense knows this.  Ignoring human nature in order to press a different agenda (such as making already-harried passengers walk at least double the current distance to force them past retail shops) will predictably result in furious passengers and reduced satisfaction with the airport as a whole.  Even more concerning is the fact that the plan involves several radical changes to the terminal structure that will forever preclude returning to anything resembling the current traffic flow if the new version fails.