Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) requested that we design a pair of signature entrance markers to be located at major entrance points to welcome passengers to the airport, and to reflect the airport’s growing importance as a regional transportation center.

The solution we generate serves both purposes. RDU is located adjacent to the Research Triangle Park. The solution was selected, in part, because it conveys a level of technological expression and refinement consistent with the image of a bustling airport in a recognized research and technology center. The entrance markers also make formal reference to objects typically encountered at airports such as radar installations and large, overhead signage assemblies.

The transparent back-lit glass panel are supported by four custom-fabricated structural aluminum trusses. The trusses, in turn, are attached to a ten-inch diameter, horizontal pipe supported by vertical aluminum plates. The plates attach directly to the pour-in-place concrete sub-structure. This battened, profiled concrete sub-structure is clad in black Impala granite. Graphics on the transparent glass panels are ceramic frit, screened on the back surface. Graphics on the black granite are made of polished, laser-cut aluminum plate.

Awards:

• 2002 AIA North Carolina Merit Award.
• 2001 Inform Magazine Design Award. The project was published in Inform.