Atmospheric Reflections of the North is a permanent large-scale suspended installation created for Manchester Airport’s transformed Terminal 2.

Spanning the main departure route between security and the departure lounge, the artwork reimagines one of the airport’s most recognisable historic features: the original Venetian chandeliers that once hung within Terminal 1. For generations of travellers, the chandeliers became part of the experience of flying from Manchester, quietly witnessing family holidays, business trips, reunions and departures. As the airport entered a new era through its £1.3 billion transformation programme, the challenge was not simply how to preserve the chandeliers, but how to allow them to continue their story.

Rather than restoring the chandeliers as singular decorative objects, Lazerian proposed a new approach. The original glass droplets were carefully salvaged, catalogued and redistributed throughout a completely new installation, transforming a familiar object into an immersive sculptural environment that responds to the scale and movement of the new terminal.

The final artwork consists of 482 suspended parachute-inspired forms carrying thousands of reclaimed glass elements. Together they create a floating landscape of light, reflection and atmosphere that stretches across the departures hall, becoming part of the architecture rather than an object placed within it.

The design draws inspiration from several narratives connected to Manchester and the wider North.

The most immediate reference is the region’s weather. Clouds, rainfall, shifting light and changing skies are translated into suspended forms and cascading glass droplets that appear to drift across the terminal. Rather than creating a literal representation of weather, the installation seeks to capture a familiar atmosphere; the feeling of light breaking through cloud, rain moving across a landscape or the anticipation of a journey beginning beneath an overcast sky.

The work also references Manchester’s industrial heritage. The suspended forms take cues from textiles, fabric structures and engineered systems, acknowledging the city’s role as one of the world’s great manufacturing centres. Their tensioned geometry and layered construction introduce a softer material language into the terminal while maintaining a strong structural presence.

A further influence comes from the airport’s own history. Before becoming Manchester Airport, the site at Ringway was home to the No.1 Parachute Training School during the Second World War. The repeated parachute forms throughout the installation acknowledge this legacy, introducing themes of descent, suspension, movement and travel that connect directly to both the history of the site and the experience of flying.

At the heart of the project is the idea of transformation through material. Every reclaimed glass droplet carries a connection to the airport’s past, having reflected light across decades of journeys and experiences. By separating and redistributing these elements throughout the installation, the work allows history to exist across the space rather than being concentrated within a single object.

This approach reflects Lazerian’s wider practice, where materials are valued not only for what they are, but for the stories they contain. Rather than replacing the chandeliers, Atmospheric Reflections of the North extends their life, allowing their physical material and emotional significance to continue within a contemporary context.

The installation has been designed to change through movement and light. As passengers travel beneath the artwork, layers of glass appear and disappear, densities shift and reflections evolve. From some viewpoints the work appears cloud-like and expansive; from others it becomes almost transparent. There is no single fixed perspective. Instead, the sculpture reveals itself gradually through the experience of moving through the terminal.

Throughout the day, natural and artificial light interact with the suspended glass, creating subtle variations in colour, transparency and shadow. These changing conditions ensure that the installation is never experienced in exactly the same way twice.

Atmospheric Reflections of the North transforms a cherished piece of Manchester Airport’s history into a new landmark for future generations of travellers. Rooted in memory, place and movement, the installation bridges heritage and contemporary design while celebrating the identity, history and atmosphere of the North.

Photography: Gunner Gu

Videography: Joe Henry Wilson