The design studio Lazerian has installed hundreds of suspended parachutes above Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. The new artwork incorporates reclaimed Murano glass droplets from the airport’s original chandeliers to blend historical materials with modern design.
What happened
The installation drifts high above the busy departure terminal. It features hundreds of individual parachute forms hanging from the ceiling in a dense, colorful cluster.
The project is titled “Atmospheric Reflections of the North.” The design studio Lazerian created the sprawling piece to fill the massive airspace inside the newly updated terminal building.
Each suspended element holds a distinct piece of local transit history. The designers incorporated reclaimed Murano glass droplets directly into the new fabric composition.
These glass pieces originally hung in the airport’s old chandeliers. When the airport upgraded the terminal, construction crews carefully removed the historic glass to prevent it from shattering.
Lazerian then embedded the salvaged glass into the center of the parachute structures. The glass droplets catch the natural and artificial light as travelers walk through the concourse below.
The artwork uses vibrant colors to draw the eye upward. The parachutes hang at varying heights, creating a layered, cloud-like effect across the wide ceiling.
Why it matters
Airports usually discard old lighting fixtures and decorations during major renovations. This project takes a different approach by recycling historical materials into a piece of contemporary art.
The reclaimed Murano glass gives the new installation a direct physical tie to the building’s past. Frequent flyers might recognize the glass droplets from the terminal’s previous era.
The parachute motif also connects heavily to the region’s broader aviation history. Manchester has a long background in aerospace engineering, flight development, and industrial textile manufacturing.
The installation breaks up the otherwise sterile architecture of a modern transit hub. It provides a massive, colorful focal point for passengers waiting in long security or check-in lines.
Using existing materials also reduces the environmental footprint of commissioning brand-new airport art. The studio completely bypassed the need to manufacture new glass elements for the ceiling display.
The catch
Maintaining hundreds of fabric parachutes in an active airport presents a serious long-term challenge. The terminal operates constantly, leaving very little downtime for complex cleaning procedures.
Fabric absorbs dust and airborne particles much faster than hard metal or glass surfaces. Airport maintenance crews will need specialized lift equipment to safely clean the suspended elements high above the passenger floor.
The original chandeliers are permanently gone. Travelers who preferred the classic, elegant lighting fixtures must settle for this highly modern, deconstructed interpretation.
Furthermore, the glass droplets are now scattered across a massive ceiling area. Their original dense, glowing impact as traditional chandeliers is entirely lost in the new, spaced-out layout.
What to verify
The exact number of parachutes hanging in the Terminal 2 airspace remains unconfirmed.
It is unclear exactly how many Murano glass droplets the studio managed to salvage from the original lighting fixtures.
The specific cleaning and maintenance schedule for the fabric installation has not been publicly detailed by the airport authority.
Source trail
The details of the new art installation were originally reported by Designboom.
The artwork is currently on display inside Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport.
