Dereck Revington Studio
WATERLINE - Lakeshore Boulevard, Toronto
Conceived as a large-scale gateway along Toronto’s shoreline at the western threshold to the city, Waterline celebrates entry at high speed. Unlike conventional city icons it unfolds in time, is clearly distinguishable in scale, reach and import from other signs along the highway, and vitalizes this zone of transit 24 hours a day creating a unique and mutable event with each passing.
It is composed of two interdependent elements, a 120 meter long Light Beam, and an unfurling Portal poised between touch-down and lift-off two thirds of the way along its length. Illuminated from dusk till dawn each night of the year and bridging twilight, it follows a recurring cycle, changing in hue and intensity in a continuous linear gradient. Within this chromatic nightly cycle, diaphanous waves of colour stream intermittently through the Light Beam towards the city, swelling and dissolving through the Portal in variable rhythms and exchanges. Built into the design and budget was a sustainable solar array fueling the lights and located on the south facing berm.
