The artwork consists of one simple intervention––scoring lines into precast concrete to create a palette of grids, pulses and interweaving threads that animate these massive structures. For the roadway retaining walls, 20 different tile patterns are arranged to create large-scale, non-repeating designs across 57,000 sf of wall space. The designs work with the industry standard “cruciform” shaped wall panel, transforming this ubiquitous element of highway infrastructure into something visually complex yet still utilitarian.

As the density of lines increases, the gridded panels they read darker and darker, as more surface area is removed. These darker “pixels” help visually break up the mass of the enormous walls.

On the two larger airside walls the designs conjure the region’s hydrology, geology and topography. One evokes a meandering river inspired by aerial views of the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio in and around Pittsburgh. The other is a cross-section graphic that slices through one of the river valleys.

The work continues on the facade of the airport's parking structure with a similar vocabulary of grids, lines and pulses, also evoking energetic streams, technology, connectivity, movement and geography. Altogether, the work accompanies people as they make their way through the airport campus on their own unique travel journeys.