i_light

The long-awaited regeneration of Toronto's eastern waterfront is about to begin. Understandably, the first moves are primarly infrastructural. But there is little in the immediate action to spark the interest of imagination of Toronto's citizens.
After the years of discussion and planning it would be sad if this momentous activity began with a whimper, not with a bang.
Press releases and computer simulations of the glowing future can hardly be expected to stir people's hearts.

We propose an immediate action – both pratical and symbolic … construction of a large scale work of art which dramatises the beginning of the great change and at the same time marks a significant element of the history of the area.

The Ship Channel is to be lined with i_light pylons. Thirty meters high slim steel columns are spaced along the concrete dock walls. Pulsing xenon lights at the top of each pylon simulate a heart beating, simultaneously and visible both day and night.
The i_light pylons begin at the harbour edge and can be seen from everywhere along the city waterfront … from the Island Airport to the East Bayfront … and from the Gardner Expressway and the City highrises.
Eventually the i_light pylons will line the whole length of the
Ship Channel, strongly delineating one of the most significant precincts of the Harbour Commissioners ambitious 1912 plan and highlighting a body of water which will be central to the new piece of City emerging from the old industrial district.

JEFFERY STINSON OAA FRAIC AASTC MA
Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto