“Porte Cochere de La Lumiere” (The Portal of Light)

“Glass is the most magical of all materials. It transmits light in a special way.” - Gale Chihuly

Our group chose to explore the downtown centre east location for this semester's Jane’s Walk. While I do spend a frequent amount of time downtown, it was refreshing to take more than a quick glance at some of the incredible art installations the core has to offer. 

Our first impressions of this area were that it housed many corporate companies and buildings, creating a very “cement community”. However, the immense amount of fascinating artwork we came across diluted that dull notion and turned it into “I wonder what’s around that corner?”

The structure pictured above was designed by Michael Hayden and commissioned by Amoco Oil (Now known as BP). During the day, it appears to be just a stainless steel and glass structure. However, at night, there are a couple light portals that shine from the ground up, casting an array of colour into the glass panels. It is considered a visual light show to those walking by.

This was one of my favourite installations we came across. I picked this structure in particular as I felt inspired by the idea that it had a second component to it - the projected lights that are only visible at night. That alone would make me want to come back to it during the evening and see the vibrant colours cascading over the glass panels.