RDU Airport, NC – The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority yesterday introduced two art concepts for Terminal 1, which is currently undergoing a major renovation. The concepts were approved by the Airport Authority board at its monthly meeting. RDU staff will now begin working with the artists to finalize the pieces that will be featured in the terminal when the modernization project is completed in early 2014.
When it is completed, four works of art will be featured in the terminal. A budget of $750,000 has been created for Terminal 1 art.
Catherine Widgery’s Ripples will be featured on the Terminal 1 concourse. According to the artist, the piece creates a contemplative, soothing expanse of blue water where the patterns of drops remind travelers of eternal rhythms and cycles. As the viewer looks more closely at the piece, the drops are falling and the rings on the water appear to be expanding.
To create this effect, the image will be composed of three photographic images woven together in fine vertical strips and printed on an interlayer within two panels of clear glass. Thins lines are then then etched into the top layer of glass.
As a result, the viewer sees three moments in time that are seen sequentially as the viewer moves past the piece.
The second piece, created by architectural glass artist Martin Donlin, will be a collage featured on a two-story wall that reaches from the ticketing to security checkpoint.
For his piece, Donlin proposes using elements and images from the Research Triangle Region that will be used either literally or as a metaphor. He will use bold images for impact while incorporating small intricate details for the viewer who chooses to take a closer look.
The piece will be a multi-layer glass wall consisting of different treatments on the surfaces’ layers, including vitreous ceramic enamel hand-painted by the artist.
View the Terminal 1 art concepts
Passenger Traffic Remains Flat in September
The number of passengers traveling through RDU in September remained flat compared to the same month last year. The number of travelers flying out of RDU dipped slight by .1%, while those arriving at RDU dipped by just .4%.
Load factors on departing flights were 78 percent, up 2.5% from the same month last year. Load factors refer to the percentage of seats filled on a flight.
“What this tells us,” said RDU Airport Director Mike Landguth. “Is that while the number of available seats has decreased over the last year, our passengers continue to fill the seats that are available.”
###