Hatsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport recently tested the lighting on the first three sections of its North Terminal canopy.
This canopy is one of a half dozen major construction projects under way at ATL as part of a major 20-year long development program, dubbed ATL Next, that the airport says is designed to boost capacity, renew and replace existing facilities and “enhance ATL’s aesthetic appeal.”
There will be canopies in front of the North and South passenger terminals and the full length of each canopy will be covered in a plastic material that will be able to be illuminated in different colors and patterns by thousands of embedded LED lights.
Work on the ATL’s North Canopy should be done by the fall. The South canopy is expected to be completed in Fall 2019.
The airport did a test run on the lights on part of the North Canopy last week. Neutral white light is expected to be the default color but on special occasions the canopies will be illuminated to mark specific events such as red, white and blue to honor Independence Day.
Other options already under consideration: red and black to celebrate a Falcons Super Bowl victory, or green to mark Earth Day.
Of course, ATL isn’t the first to get a cool lighted architectural feature.
Chicago’s O’Hare Airport has the “Sky’s the Limit” underground neon walkway.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport has a lighted tunnel.
And Los Angeles International Airport has lighted pylons at it entrance that are often lit up in different color patterns to honor a holiday or special event.
What other cool lighted architectural features at airports should we add to this list?
