Sea Change by Jill Anholt

Project Details

The award-winning Sea Change is an interactive light-based artwork that activates the pedestrian experience within a bus exchange transit tunnel in North Vancouver, BC.

Transforming a dark underpass into a dynamic and engaging experience for viewers, the illuminated display mimics the magical feeling of being immersed within a body of water as if light rays were penetrating an undersea world through water ripples above the tunnel.

This watery effect is created using a series of LED lights that reflect light patterns off textured mirror-polished stainless-steel panels located at specific angles to create dynamic textures on the wall and ground surfaces of the tunnel. When the tunnel is unoccupied the artwork creates a gentle shifting light effect, however when a pedestrian or cyclist enters the underpass, a dynamic ripple is triggered across the wall in front of them. Exterior colour changing luminaires with a multi-diode array create additional texture. Occupancy sensors trigger individual ripples of colours across the wall for pedestrians and cyclists, while scenes sit in a lower energy ‘resting state’ during less active times.

Completed in September 2020, Sea Change was honoured with the 2021 CODA Award for Transportation and the 2021 IES Lighting Control Innovation Award of Merit

This project features innovative custom lighting technology provided by leading lighting manufacturers Lumenpulse and ETC.

Photographer: Nic Lehoux