Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, MO

Linking America’s heartland to international crossroads, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport serves as a hub for the blending of the many different curiosities, cultures, traditions, and future possibilities of more than 12 million travelers a year. During a recent remodel, one objective was to create a brighter environment for these millions of travelers. Taking a creative approach to the update, a design competition was held for artists to submit drawings—reflecting the many different cultures that touch down in St. Louis—for the airport’s terrazzo flooring.

Artist Alicia LaChance’s “New Village,” a lively 41-color design, was chosen, and fully embraces the flexibility of the medium.

“The logo describes her interpretation of the world—all the different countries of the world that could possibly come through Lambert Airport,” said Kevin Rickman of Missouri Terrazzo, the terrazzo contractor for the renovation.

The 19,000 square feet of newly installed epoxy terrazzo is located at the security entrance to concourses C and D. As the vast majority of the floor is an off-white epoxy with a marble, glass, and mother of pearl chip design, LaChance’s bright, 400-square-foot inlay design stands out dramatically. The logo lies at the entrance to the two concourses, greeting all arriving passengers to St. Louis.

For this vivid logo design, the new terrazzo flooring was installed on top of the already existing terrazzo. Rickman said this process doesn’t differ much from a fresh terrazzo installation, as it still includes prepping the existing surface and putting in divider strips.

Working with Missouri Terrazzo, LaChance directed and selected each epoxy color for the logo, using glass, plastic, and mother of pearl chips. A color drawing with numbers that corresponded to the epoxy and aggregate colors sample sheet was then created to keep the brilliancy of the design organized. Installers poured as many of the 41 colors as they could in a day. As each individual epoxy was mixed and poured by hand, divider strips were continuously cleaned to ensure colors would not run during the next day’s pouring. Rickman said the logo is something wonderful for travelers to look at and appreciate, as a large amount of creativity and work went into the design and creation of “New Village.”

“To see that many different colors in one area, it just catches the eye,” he said. “And it won’t wear out.”

Color flexibility and sustainability make terrazzo the ideal flooring for high foot-traffic areas like Lambert-St.
Louis International Airport.

“Terrazzo won’t normally wear out. You can put one floor in and it can last up to 80 to 100 years,” Rickman said. “Terrazzo is just a great product.”

The Airport Authority at Lambert agrees, as it contracted Missouri Terrazzo to continue with an additional 50,000-square-foot terrazzo remodel at the ticketing level.

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