Compass

1992, Pittsburgh International Airport.

Compass alludes to earth and sky, ascent and descent through cyclic patterns of vertical stripes and horizontal bars sandblasted on the blue and bronze glass elements. The Cross Imissa, or Greek Cross appears in one of the blue tinted sections of glass, geometrically suggesting the cardinal directions of the compass. In antiquity, the Greek Cross was predominately a symbol for the four directions of the earth. The cross symbol is embedded in the tile floor design and abstractly implied in the passageway’s center aluminum panel, which is divided vertically in the northeast direction and horizontally in the southwest direction.