November | December 2026 AirportImprovement.com 64 ARTSCAPES PIT PIT Steel No other city personifies the glory days of U.S. steel production better than Pittsburgh, and a new art installation at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) honors that history. In a broader sense, the large-scale piece also highlights the region’s contemporary leadership in manufacturing, construction and technology. Open Columns is an integrated series of three steel columns located in front of the new terminal and its associated parking garage and lot. Guests can enter each open-air column and gaze up to experience the interplay of reflective bands that visually dissolve into the sky above. “Looking through the columns is like looking out of an airplane window,” says artist Patrick Marold. “And I hope it gives the person the same kind of wonder I get when I look out of an airplane window.” Collectively, the columns reference the distinctive colors, forms and textures of the local landscape. Many viewers interpret their cylindrical shapes as industrial smokestacks. The columns range in height from 20 to 40 feet and are made of weathering steel (also known as Corten steel) on the outside and highly polished stainless steel on the inside. Both have been popular construction materials in the area for more than a century. Weathering steel is visible on several of the area’s landmark buildings, including the U.S. Steel Building in downtown Pittsburgh. PIT Arts and Culture Manager Keny Marshall notes that Marold’s work embodies the airport’s design philosophy of NaTeCo (Nature, Technology and Community), which is visible throughout the 811,000-square-foot terminal that opened in fall 2025. The summer 2026 installation of Open Columns added figurative, and somewhat literal, exclamation points to the end of a multiyear program that uses artwork as a central feature of the new terminal. Early in the design process, PIT partnered with artists from the region and around the world to create site-specific works the project team integrated with the building architecture. In total, 16 artists were commissioned, each contributing pieces to create a sense of place for passengers and elevate Pittsburgh’s identity as a center for innovation and culture. Overall, the airport displays art in more than 30 locations throughout its campus. One particular standout is the iconic kinetic mobile by Alexander Calder that was originally installed in 1959 and now hangs in the new terminal. Although it’s officially titled Pittsburgh, most simply call it “The Calder Mobile.” Programming presented by PIT Art in the Airport extends beyond the visual arts to include music, spoken word and dance. In a nod to modern technology, the airport’s art program has broadcast performances by life-size holograms of musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and jazz musicians during the city’s annual International Jazz Festival.
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