Client: Arts and Science Council Charlotte Mecklenberg

Overview

MERIDIAN: WEST is the first of two, twin gateway sculptures anchoring the East and West ends of the new Charlotte Douglas International Airport Terminal lobby expansion.

The sculptures’ form traverses a layered ‘DNA’ of orbital spatial relationships, from the airport flight patterns globally to the arching pathways of the interior and exterior architectures. The cycle of departure and return is featured in the spiraling motion, accentuated by the dynamic movement of the integrated, programmable lighting moving through each sculpture.

MERIDIAN incorporates the first-of-its-kind LED embedded, perforated stainless steel pipe with multi-axis movements and a fluctuating spherical particulate pattern. Geo-Data coordinates based upon community members’ unique contributions have been spatially mapped within the sculpture’s LED integrated lighting, articulating movements across the sculptures, and supporting reflections on the personal and collective ways we navigate the world.

Laser Perforated Stainless Steel Tube, Bi-colored Stainless-Steel Spheres, Programmable LED lighting, custom hardware.
19’ L x 16’ W x 23’ H (Each)

(MERIDIAN: EAST installs September 2023)

Goals

Roney studio approached this project with the goal of developing an iconic, site-specific vision of discovery for the new terminal lobby expansion at CLT Airport.

Each sculpture functions as a gateway to the East and West End atrium bays, while framing skyline views to the East. MERIDIAN’s East/West juxtapositions enable both sides of the form to be experienced from exterior vehicular and pedestrian corridors. These locations anchor the visitors’ experience, creating interior destinations and contributing to way finding strategies. Upper-level mezzanine views incorporate airy floating perspectives, while subterranean escalator and stair entrances reveal dynamic canopy views, emphasizing the kinetic nature of the viewer.

Process

Developed in a digital process that transforms through a handmade process, the patterns of individual and collective movements in the sculptures articulate how our virtual and physical lives are intertwined.

In an integrated approach to the artistic considerations, key engineering and fabrication optimizations were engaged to maintain the clarity within the circulations of movement in the sculptures, reminiscent of the airy nature of flight. To achieve the verticality and floating aesthetic, an internal cable tension strategy was developed to maintain the individual linear movements articulated through the multi-axis CNC bent perforated stainless-steel tube. All the innovative concepts and solutions support a dynamic, time-based experience articulating a fluid, lyrical vision of departure and return.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The studio’s process also involved an extensive 2-year engagement process in which community participants were invited to contribute their geographical histories, tracing hundreds of individual data sets across the sculptures’ embedded LED system, each contributing to an emblematic vision for the Airport's 48 Million annual visitors