■Large-scale Public Art in Tampa International Airport

Tampa International Airport is located in Florida’s Gulf Coast in the United States. The main terminal houses a large piece of public art, entitled HOME, which makes dynamic use of the terminal space from floor to ceiling. The installation, created by American artist Matthew Mazzotta, comprises a giant flamingo peeking beneath the surface of a body of water.

―Flights arrive and depart from the Tampa International Airport, bringing people – from their home, back home, to a new home, or a place that “feels like home”. The idea of “home” in Florida is not only for people, it is also home for the abundance of wildlife that lives here as well. […] The exaggerated scale of the flamingos in HOME puts the lives of these birds in the focus, and puts us, as humans, in awe as they tower above us, reminding us that we all share the same home.
(Cited from Matthew Mazzotta’s website)

■Evoking the Water’s Surface with Textured Mirror-Polished Panels

The stainless-steel ceiling panels were fabricated by KIKUKAWA. They form a vital element of the installation as they evoke the surface of the water in which the flamingo is wading. These are Minamo panels® which feature KIKUKAWA’s unique embossing finish. For the installation, we supplied more than 200 mirror-polished stainless-steel panels.

The ceilings panels reflect both the flamingo statue and the scenery and lights in the surrounding area, creating a sense of gentle movement that recalls the surface of water. The panels work to bring both depth to the space and vitality to the artwork.

Click here to find out more about Minamo panels®

■Long-distance International Shipping Made Possible through Careful Packaging

KIKUKAWA’s Minamo panels® have been featured in multiple projects across Japan, but the Tampa International Airport installation is the first time they have been used in an international project. At KIKUKAWA we have a team that specialises in projects located outside of Japan, and therefore are able to ensure smooth and effective communication with our overseas customers.

Projects located outside of Japan require us to transport our products over long distances. As such, we are scrupulous in packaging our products to ensure they are delivered to our customers in excellent condition. For this project, we made tailored packaging boxes and cushioning materials, in line with the product size, and packaged each panel carefully without gaps, in order to ensure the mirror-polished panels were unaffected by any impacts during transportation.

■Using Minamo Panels® to Create Artistic Spaces

HOME, Mazzotta’s impactful installation, has attracted plenty of attention, with many airport visitors stopping to enjoy and photograph it. KIKUKAWA is delighted that our Minamo panels® have contributed to creating a space that encourages public interaction and engagement.

The HOME project has won a 2023 COD Award: these awards celebrate outstanding projects that integrate art into architectural and public spaces.
https://www.codaworx.com/projects/home/

The effect of the light reflecting on the panels, and how that mimics the ripples on the surface of a body of water, can be seen in a video on Matthew Mazzotta’s website.
https://www.matthewmazzotta.com/home-tampa