Polarities

POLARITIES

Kansas City International Airport (Terminals A, B, and C), Kansas City, MO

Commissioned by:
The City of Kansas City, Missouri, Municipal Art Commission

Dimensions:
200,000 square feet (18,580 square meters)

Materials:
Epoxy matrix terrazzo with blue glass, clear glass, mirror, mother of pearl, and marble aggregates; brass, zinc and green plastic strip; brass, marble and stone and glass mosaic imbedded inserts.

Site Description:
Circular primary pedestrian concourses in all three terminals of a major airport

Polarities is inspired by the phenomena of flight, by dramatic shifts of perspective, and by the mapping of air, of sky and land. This new terrazzo floor is a collection of overlapping systems created by brass plus and minus symbols, suggesting the infinite depth of space and images which create a sense of groundlessness, of suspense, of flight, of freedom. The floors of the three terminals represent inverted, continuous bands of sky. The viewer hereby becomes the aerial viewer, the eyes of the bird. The area adjacent to this blue band is a simple, gray terrazzo with random brass plus and minus symbols only.

The rich ultramarine blue band of terrazzo is contained within a narrow black and white border, suggesting the mapping and measure of space. Fine brilliant green lines criss-cross and segment the floor thus creating a volume of depth that is spatial beneath one’s feet. The fine green lines are like the longitudinal lines on a map or chart, or like the web of lines from the flight control radar screen. Wind and water currents, magnetism are suggested by the brass plus and minus inlays that will stir the blue volume and give evidence to the invisible animation of flow, the pull of gravity and the dream of release. Occasionally in the blue terrazzo an inset marble, mosaic and brass round medallions occurs or an image shape outlined in brass strip and in-filled with an alternative color of terrazzo.