Sneak peak of the new international terminal art
Custom pieces liven up the Atlanta airport’s $1.5 billion build-out
- Joeff Davis
- Fresh entrance to the new international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson
People be talkin’ bout the new international terminal at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport. Set to open May 16, the $1.5 billion (or one and a half Instagrams) project will help the world’s busiest airport accommodate an estimated jump of 10 million passengers over the next three years. The bidding and approval processes for airport vendor contracts got a little sticky and raised questions about favoritism by Mayor Kasim Reed.
I’ve written a few times about my affection for the airport, mostly because I enjoy the art program there. This week I visited for a tour of the new terminal and the works created and curated specifically for Concourse F.
The new terminal is big and bright, almost blindingly so on the clear day I visited. Most of the installations take advantage of the abundance of natural light or at least were inspired by it. The security checkpoint opens up into a two-story atrium anchored by a suspended sculpture by Donald Lipski. Like a giant butterfly net made of Swarovski crystal, Lipski’s “rebilace” provides a sparkly focal point for the space and some visual balance for Uebersee’s massive installation hanging in the adjacent open lobby.
- Joeff Davis
- David Lipski’s “rebilace” in the terminal atrium