BUILT ARTWORK SPOTLIGHT
Gateway Currents, Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport
$100,000 Architectural Terrazzo Medallion Commission
Project Completion: 2025
Drawing on the rhythms of the region's waterways, roadways, and landscape, Gateway Currents is a suite of three large-scale, site-specific epoxy terrazzo medallions embedded within a high-traffic airport concourse, designed to align with the movement of travelers as both wayfinding anchors and shared points of orientation. The compositions translate movement into layered color, curvature, and form, creating works that read clearly at a distance while revealing richer detail over time.
Delivered on a fast-track timeline from concept through installation in under five months, the project was developed in close collaboration with terrazzo fabricators and project teams, meeting commercial performance and slip-resistance standards within an active airport environment. Nominated for the 2026 National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association Honor Award and the Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Award, the work reflects a durable visual language shaped by circulation, place, and everyday use.
Gateway Currents, Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport
$100,000 Architectural Terrazzo Medallion Commission
Project Completion: 2025
Drawing on the rhythms of the region's waterways, roadways, and landscape, Gateway Currents is a suite of three large-scale, site-specific epoxy terrazzo medallions embedded within a high-traffic airport concourse, designed to align with the movement of travelers as both wayfinding anchors and shared points of orientation. The compositions translate movement into layered color, curvature, and form, creating works that read clearly at a distance while revealing richer detail over time.
Delivered on a fast-track timeline from concept through installation in under five months, the project was developed in close collaboration with terrazzo fabricators and project teams, meeting commercial performance and slip-resistance standards within an active airport environment. Nominated for the 2026 National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association Honor Award and the Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Award, the work reflects a durable visual language shaped by circulation, place, and everyday use.
Includes expanded materials information, system overview, fabrication partners, and installation context
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• Project Scope: A coordinated suite of three large-scale, site-specific 3/8-inch epoxy terrazzo floor medallions, fully integrated into a new high-traffic terminal building and strategically located along primary traveler circulation paths.
• Aesthetic Infrastructure: Conceived as both artwork and infrastructure, the medallions operate as legible wayfinding anchors and informal gathering points, designed to be instantly recognizable while reinforcing GSP Airport’s identity and enhancing passenger orientation and experience. • Regional Themes + Site Fit: The suite directly responds to the RFP’s thematic framework, translating water and landscape, the region's history as a textile center, and technology and mobility into three distinct yet visually interconnected compositions: Convergent Gateway (the airport as a point of convergence and departure), Reedy River Falls & Flow (regional ecology, waterways, and movement, as exemplified by an iconic local park), and Woven Cityscape (the interlaced flows of people, materials, infrastructure, and rivers that shape the region). • Material Rigor & Execution: Developed under stringent performance, safety, and color-control requirements, the project was fabricated and installed in close coordination with the 2025 National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association Job of the Year Award winners David Allen Company, with color proofing and quality control support from Cheryl Simerly & Associates, to ensure long-term durability, slip resistance, and visual precision within an active airport environment. • Industry Recognition + Experience Impact: Nominated for the 2026 National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association Honor Award and an Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Award, the project demonstrates the studio’s ability to align bold visual identity with operational airport logistics, delivering a durable, high-impact artwork that elevates the everyday traveler experience. |
Details of Gateway Currents (top: Reedy River Falls & Flow, bottom: Convergent Gateway), translating regional movement, ecology, and circulation into durable visual infrastructure and intuitive wayfinding.
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Image Gallery: Fabrication, Finish & Circulation Cues
Technical Summary and Project Documentation
- Client: Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport District
- Completion: 2025
- Scope: Three epoxy terrazzo floor medallions
- Dimensions: One 12 ft diameter; two 8 ft diameter
- System: 3/8 inch epoxy terrazzo flooring system
- Materials: Aluminum divider strips with custom aggregate blends including recycled glass, mother of pearl, and Georgia white marble
- Finish: Mechanically ground and polished for high-traffic public use
- Fabrication and Installation: David Allen Associates, NTMA member and winner of the 2025 NTMA Job of the Year Award
- Color Coordination: Cheryl Simerly & Associates
Includes expanded materials information, system overview, fabrication partners, and installation context
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