​​​​​​Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 3

​Phoenix Light Passage​​


ARTIST:   James Carpenter Design Associates
DATE:   2020
LOCATION:  PSHIA Terminal 3 North Concourse Bridge
TYPE:  Sculpture
MATERIALS:   Anodized optical aluminum, stainless steel, acid etched glass, lighting, terrazzo
BUDGET:   $1,890,900
DISTRICT:   8
ZIP CODE:   ​85034

Additional Credits: Design: James Carpenter, Richard Kress, Christopher Pietsch
Installation: Jonathan Forsythe, Terry Dowd, JCDA
Engineer:  Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger
Stainless Steel: TriPyramid Structures
Aluminum: Reflective Concepts
Glass: Pulp Studios
Lighting: LSW Lighting
Lighting Installation: Kortman Electric
Building Contractor: Hunt  Austin Joint Venture


​Artist James Carpenter worked with the airport design team to integrate his luminous sculptural window wall into the passenger bridge “At a key transition in the airport," said Carpenter, “the artwork transforms the incoming daylight into a soft volumetric expression of Phoenix's desert light." The effects and colors change with the sun throughout the day and seasons. In late afternoons the edges of the window glass refract rainbow splashes along the floor and wall. Specialized lighting makes the installation visible to curbside drivers and passengers at night.

In addition to designing the window-wall installation, JCDA selected the dark tones of the terrazzo floor, ceiling and wall surfaces inside the bridge corridor to enhance the impact of the luminous window wall.

Phoenix Light Passage is one of four major public art projects built as part of the Terminal 3 modernization. The others are located in the terminals' East arrivals atrium, on the passenger bridge to the south concourse, and the West plaza.