Look of the Games: Civic Olympic Art & Decorations

[mr.x]

Olympic rings to light up airport


By Damian Inwood, The Province
March 4, 2009

Visitors to Vancouver are now being welcomed by a set of 15-metre-tall, illuminated Olympic rings as they leave Vancouver International Airport.

The rings are the first in a series which are being erected by the Ministry of Transportation.

On Thursday at 6 p.m. B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell will officially light the rings, which are made up of more than 20,000 low-energy LED lights.

According to one Province source, it will cost $3 per day to power the lights.

A government news release says the rings can be programmed "for stunning light displays."

Two other candidates for sets of rings are believed to be the Burrard Street Bridge and the Lions Gate Bridge and there's been speculation that a giant, illuminated set of rings may be placed on the North Shore mountains.

Colin Hansen, Minister responsible for the 2010 Winter Games confirmed that the cost of the rings at Vancouver International Airport is $1.3 million.

VANOC's John Furlong has expressed the idea of having a giant set of Olympic rings attached to barges in English Bay, to get ready for that moment. (Olympic rings on the Lions Gate Bridge or on Grouse Mountain seem like a no-brainer, too.)

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© Copyright (c) The Province




Could we PLEASE keep all of this after Olympics? :p

[mr.x]

Behold: The First of Five Giant Olympic Rings to be Erected in Vancouver
Posted by Vancity Buzz | Tuesday, March 03, 2009 | Olympics, Vancouver
http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2009/03/5-...-vancouver.html

A buddy of mine was flying in from Toronto the other day to job hunt here on the west coast when he noticed a giant Olympic ring being erected near the "Welcome to BC" sign. This is the first of five Olympic rings to be installed in time for the Olympics. The Lions Gate and Burrard Bridge are other two candidates. I don't know the other two locations just yet, but I heard that the North Shore mountains might get them, something similar to the Hollywood sign.

As you can see the rings have bulbs around them and will light up at night. This is the beginning of the Olympic public art initiative. I can't wait to see the rest, I'm sure the rest of the buzzers feel the same.

I wonder how long it will be before the APC come and vandalize the rings? You know chew up more tax dollars in cleaning/replacing them. A drain on society they are indeed...



Interestingly enough, one of the blog replies were: "Yeah fucking rights we are going to rip the cables right off those abhorrent things you call "art"!"





Burrard Street Bridge before




Burrard Street Bridge after




Lions Gate Bridge before




Lions Gate Bridge after




Side of Whistler Mountain after





Canada Place/Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre/Main Media Centre






Grouse Mountain (the middle mountain) will have massive Olympic rings atop its peak

[Spork]

I wonder why things like these aren't kept as olympic assets or sold between cities so that they can be reused...

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by Spork

I wonder why things like these aren't kept as olympic assets or sold between cities so that they can be reused...

that is an interesting question...perhaps we can sell these to London for the 2012 games.

[twoNeurons]

Was I the only one on the forum who was looking up at Grouse a 6PM exactly one year before the Olympics and saw all the lights on the mountain go out? And after that, there looked like some sort of fire procession going down the mountain.

Anyone else think that a mass of people with torches going down grouse mountain would be cool during the ceremonies?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by tintinium

Was I the only one on the forum who was looking up at Grouse a 6PM exactly one year before the Olympics and saw all the lights on the mountain go out? And after that, there looked like some sort of fire procession going down the mountain.

Anyone else think that a mass of people with torches going down grouse mountain would be cool during the ceremonies?

Would be cool, but it wouldn't work for the ceremonies.....and it would only work if we had pristine weather.

[nova9]

Originally Posted by tintinium

Was I the only one on the forum who was looking up at Grouse a 6PM exactly one year before the Olympics and saw all the lights on the mountain go out? And after that, there looked like some sort of fire procession going down the mountain.

Anyone else think that a mass of people with torches going down grouse mountain would be cool during the ceremonies?

I saw that too, the picture of it wasn't as impressive though. I think maybe not something for the actual opening (i mean, if i were inside bc place, i'd want the action in front of me), maybe the lead up? hey, project the countdown number somehow (flares or whatever) from grouse.....err, is that an avalanche risk? haha.

[bils]

the rings at the airport look great, although i must say that i don't like the location. placing them at the foot of the arthur laing bridge would have been a much better place. in the current location, only traffic from the airport can really see them. and they appear to be single-sided - which means when you're going southbound on the arthur laing, you see the backside of it. i wonder if air traffic control had something to do with that.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by bils

the rings at the airport look great, although i must say that i don't like the location. placing them at the foot of the arthur laing bridge would have been a much better place. in the current location, only traffic from the airport can really see them. and they appear to be single-sided - which means when you're going southbound on the arthur laing, you see the backside of it. i wonder if air traffic control had something to do with that.

It was placed there probably because that's where the flower bed/flags are, the whole welcome "sign" area when you leave the airport.

A lot more decorations coming to the airport in the months ahead.

[bils]

yea they've been doing a lot of landscape improvements in the area of late. lookin' good.

[touraccuracy]

so are those bridge ones going through 100%? they better be, looks great!

[mr.x]

I hate saying it, but I am quite sure that this $1.3-million fixture will be a victim of anti-Games vandals within the next few months.





Some closeups of the airport rings from flickr
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=yvr+olympic+rings&s=rec&page=2

[deasine]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

I hate saying it, but I am quite sure that this $1.3-million fixture will be a victim of anti-Games vandals within the next few months.

SHHH don't even give them ideas!

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by deasine

SHHH don't even give them ideas!

Consider that even some CTV 2010 bus stop ads have "CANCEL" spray painted on them.

[Chikinlittle]

While it may be overkill to keep all the Olympic signage up after the games, now that Vancouver will be an "Olympic City", why not keep at least one of them - like the one at the airport - up permanently after the games? What is the purpose of taking it down again?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Chikinlittle

While it may be overkill to keep all the Olympic signage up after the games, now that Vancouver will be an "Olympic City", why not keep at least one of them - like the one at the airport - up permanently after the games? What is the purpose of taking it down again?

i completely agree with you....but the airport rings don't look very long-term and sturdy considering they're partially held up by tension cables (which look ugly):

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Spork

I wonder why things like these aren't kept as olympic assets or sold between cities so that they can be reused...

Perhaps Vancouver should ask whether one set can be kept. You could put it on the side of Grouse Mountain overlooking the city. It would be a great permanent symbol for the city.

[mr.x]

Raising the YVR Olympic Rings
• Video Link




YVR Olympic Rings Construction
• Video Link





Olympic Rings at YVR opening Light Show
• Video Link

[officedweller]

City report on 2010 lighting programs:

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20090519/documents/a4.pdf

The four key areas being considered are:

1) Library Square
The Library Square Project was the largest capital project ever undertaken by the City of
Vancouver. The building will function as the Vancouver House during the 2010 Olympic
Games. Colour-changing accent lighting will enhance the Library’s striking exterior
architectural features and support way-finding to the Vancouver House, located inside.
The lighting will consist of programmable, colour-changing LED’s that can be retained by
the Library as a permanent, energy-efficient legacy.
The Government of Canada’s office tower is adjacent to the Library and Canada will fund
and co-ordinate their celebratory lighting to complement ours.

2) Cambie and Granville Street Bridges
Programmable, colour-changing lights will ensure that these bridges will be focal points
for night-time media images to be shown around the world.
The Cambie Street Bridge is the key link between City Hall and downtown. The bridge is
clearly visible from the Olympic Village. During the 2010 Winter Games, it will be the key
route for athletes, visitors and VIP’s arriving into our downtown.
The Granville Street Bridge’s intricate support beams will, when illuminated, be clearly
seen and appreciated by visitors to Granville Island and environs.
These will be permanent installations, employing latest available, programmable LED
technology, thus providing a significant, energy-efficient legacy to the City for use on
future celebratory occasions or as a year-round complement to these civic landmarks.

3) 111 Dunsmuir Street
The curved façade of this privately-owned office building anchors the north end of the
Georgia/Dunsmuir Viaduct and is strategically situated directly north of LiveCity
Downtown (at Georgia Street).
By night, the face of this building will be transformed with a dynamic, interactive ‘pixel
map’, of a scale never before seen in Vancouver. With the full co-operation of the
building’s owners, the south-facing windows will be internally lit in Olympic and
Paralympic colours and individually controlled to create patterns, movement and even
hockey scores.

4) Yaletown Park
This hard-surfaced park marks a key transition point from David Lam Park and Yaletown,
to the Robson Street, Vancouver House, LiveCity Downtown and the Olympic and venues.
Light show installations would transform the park, adding warmth, assisting with wayfinding
and creating a must-see destination for visitors walking along this designated
pedestrian corridor.

Note: These are examples of the lighting treatments to be undertaken at each location.
Details will be developed through a final design process and may not include all locations.

[raggedy13]

^Sounds great, thanks officedweller. Permanent LEDs on the Library and its office tower sounds great. Will make for a real landmark day and night. It would be great if they could have at least some of these lighting effects up and running before the end of summer.