Documented artwork / illuminated gateway sculpture
Ascendus
Credit as documented: Ed Carpenter
Ascendus marks the Charlotte Douglas International Airport approach with forms suggesting wings, feathers and upward flight. Ed Carpenter's sculpture rises sixty feet above a landscape of native plants and is visible from adjacent roads. Galvanized mild steel, stainless steel and laminated glass combine in the 2012 commission. Fifty-four LED floodlights mounted on the structure illuminate it at night.
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At a glance
- Year / version
- August 2012
- Materials
- galvanized mild steel, stainless steel, laminated glass
- Documented setting
- outdoor
- Dimensions
- 60 ft × 16 ft × 16 ft (artist sequence; height described as 60 ft).
- Dimensions apply to
- Documented object or named component scope only; no relocation/engineering specification. Source disagreements and architectural measurements remain explicitly qualified.
- Availability
- Unconfirmed
Places & versions
Installation history
Historical presentations. A past installation does not establish the current location or suitability for a new site.
August 2012
Charlotte Douglas International Airport gateway, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Site
- Gateway to Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- City
- Charlotte
- State / region
- NC
- Country
- United States (inferred; not independently confirmed)
- Commissioner
- Arts & Science Council of Charlotte
- Setting
- outdoor
Installation details checked 2026-10-17.
Materials and construction
The artist credits KPFF for engineering; Oanh Tran and Curtis Pittman for drawings and renderings; Arleen Daugherty for administration; SteelFab for metal fabrication; Metrolina for installation; West Coast Wire Rope for hardware; Haefker Studio and Glass Strategies for glass; and Howard Brothers Electric for lighting. Charlotte's Arts & Science Council handled commissioning.
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Sources
- www.edcarpenter.net ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17