public art opportunity: indianapolis international airport
The Indianapolis Airport Authority, in partnership with the Indy Arts Council, invitesIndiana visualartists to submit their qualifications and interest in designing artwork to be realized in terrazzoflooring as part ofan anticipatedrenovation of the Ground Transportation Center (GTC) atIndianapolis International Airport.
The GTC terrazzo flooring will incorporate a base treatment (as determined by the GTCrenovations architectural team) plusup tothree insets of “art” terrazzo, as shown in the attachedarchitectural plan drawing.
The purpose of this opportunity is tocommissionone artist to create designs (ideally in digitalformat) for these insets, to hold a vision for the artwork and communicate it to the airport teamand the design architect, and tocoordinatefinal specificationswith the airport’s terrazzocontractor for installation.
WHAT IS TERRAZZO?
Terrazzo is a composite material made of a semi-liquid, colored epoxy resin matrix mixed withchips of stone (usually granite or quartz), metal, glass, mother-of-pearl, or other material andpoured between terrazzo strips on a floor to form a design. The chips act to provide dimension and interest, break up the expanse of resin, and increase the durability of the surface. Afterpouring and curing, the floor is ground flat and polished to reveal the details of the design.
Terrazzo is an ideal way to create a permanent artistic focal point in a building interior. It isextremely durable, flexible for artists to design for, and easy to maintain. Other materials can beincluded in an art terrazzo floor, including mosaic tile,lighting, small objects, view windows, andmore. The terrazzo material can even be created separately as shaped insets (or insets can becreated from other materials) and placed in the floor to be surrounded by the more plastic epoxy-based material.
It is very common for major civic building projects to look to terrazzo as a way to include artists inthe project. With a little bit of technical instruction, and the assistance of an experienced interiordesigner and installer, any artist skilled in 2-Ddesign can create artistic terrazzo.