Artwork to Enhance The New SLC
Gordon Huether and his team have been selected to work with the Salt Lake City Department of Airports (SLCDA) to create large-scale, permanent art installations for The New SLC.
The Canyon
Huether’s largest art installation titled “The Canyon,” is integrated on both walls of the new airport terminal.
The Canyon evokes the Salt Lake City landscape and spans 362 feet, roughly the length of a football field, using 2.5 acres of composite fabric, and the equivalent of seven miles of aluminum tubing. The entire work consists of 412 individual tensile membrane fins.
The Falls
Additional installations integrated into The New SLC design, include the "Column Plates" and an 80-foot-tall escalator well sculpture titled “The Falls.” The sculptural Column Plates, located in a gathering area for both arriving and departing passengers, are made of composite material and create a visual distinction for the various activities taking place in the open space. The sculptural forms of the columns provide interest and induce a sense of wonder, while maintaining their functionality and visibility of the view corridor.
As a focal point of a high-traffic area, The Falls sculpture makes use of the natural light provided by the curtain wall near the three-story escalator well, creating intriguing color effects in its vicinity. Colorful, light-sensitive dichroic glass fins are partnered with light-refracting glass rods to create ever-changing colors and patterns on adjacent surfaces.
Gordon Huether Studio was the recipient of a 2018 SARA National Design Award for designing The Canyon, The Falls, The Plates and Benches all of which are located in The New SLC.
Northern Light
Airport guests exiting the Central Tunnel into Concourse B will be greeted by Northern Light at the end of The Canyon 2.0. Constructed from 500 hand-drawn glass rods and 300 dichroic glass panels, Northern Light is supported by a stainless-steel framework weighing 5,000 pounds. Northern Light pays homage to The Falls, harnessing the same vibrant hues and dynamic light interactions as the 65-foot-tall escalator well sculpture, evoking the same sense of awe and wonder.
The River Tunnel
The River Tunnel art installation is featured in the 1,000-foot long Central Tunnel connecting concourses A and B. The art installation was inspired by the beauty of Utah and reflects the rivers that flow through the state’s mountains and canyons. Artist Gordon Huether has created a completely immersive experience—from the terrazzo flooring to the blue ceiling, walls and lighting—to create a cohesive, congruous experience for passengers. The art installation is fabricated in the same fashion as The Canyon, which is a membrane sculpture made up of individual “fins” that have an aluminum frame wrapped with a Tweave Duratech 570C fabric material and enclosed with a zipper along the spine back. LED lighting is projected onto the fins in tones of blue. A curated travel-themed music playlist features a 100-song playlist through 150 high quality speakers. Click here to see the River Tunnel Fact Sheet.
World Map
First installed in in the original Salt Lake City International Airport in 1960, the World Map was salvaged and installed in Concourse B as part of Phase 3 of The New SLC. The architectural firm Ashton, Evans and Brazier designed the massive 38-foot-by-38-foot map which was constructed out of terrazzo and features existing airline routes as of 1960. When the old Terminal 1 was torn down, construction crews cut the map into 75 pieces, with each piece about 4 feet by 4 feet in size weighing approximately 400 pounds. The pieces were stored until crews used them to reinstall the World Map.
For renderings of The New SLC art installations, go to https://gordonhuether.com/salt-lake-city-international-airport.
Click here for a behind-the-scenes look Gordon Huether's work.
Click here for information on the Whimsy Wall Art Project.