Community Spaces

Celebration Square (C-Square)

Project Details

Celebration Square (C-Square)


Location

Calgary, AB, Canada

Owner/Client

City of Calgary

Completion

2016

Role

Electrical Engineering Consulting Services & Specialty Lighting Design

Awards
  • 2018 Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) - Illumination Award of Merit
  • 2017 Mayor's Urban Design Award (MUDA) - Civic Design Projects

Celebration Square (C-Square) Plaza is a compact urban public space created to connect and engage the heart of Calgary’s new East Village neighbourhood, located in a challenging location where major streets and surface LRT lines converge. The lighting design goals were to create a comfortably illuminated plaza with a sculptural installation containing reactive lighting effects; thereby becoming an after-dark point of interest and shared experience for pedestrians, motorists and transit riders simultaneously.

Installed along square’s west side run of the LRT tracks is a custom series of 60 sculptural elements composed of varying angled poles, topped with metal mesh fins. Inside the mesh fins are linear LED lights connected to sensors aimed at the approaching LRTs. Generally, at night, the lights remain on providing visual interest and a sense of the border between plaza and LRT tracks. When the sensors detect a train approaching from the North or South, the veil is triggered to dim and send a slow pulse-wave of light along the sculpture’s length in the same direction as the passing LRT. Further, the park is designed to accommodate music performances on a small stage. The sculptural fin lighting is designed to process music input by reacting to decibel levels and rhythm with various pulse and wave effects.

Copyright © SMP Engineering. All rights reserved. Please read our terms of use and privacy policy. Site by Ci2 Group