‘Sky ellipse’
28th November 2017

Expertise from CORNWALL GLASS helped artist David Pearl and architectural art glass specialists Proto Studios to complete a commission for Toronto Transit Commission, drawing on specialist IGU for the creation of ‘Highway 407’ subway station and bus terminal in Vaughan, near Toronto.

David Proto of Proto Studios said: “We were approached by David Pearl, who we had worked with before and who had been commissioned to create the building’s defining 315m2 elliptical skylight, the 100m2 western bus station façade and 200m2 escalator panelling.

“He had created a giant ‘brush-stroke’ design, with an orange, blue and yellow colour scheme, for the sky-light and facade. The key requirement was that it would throw light and colour – the orange, blue and yellow -down on the public walkway below, which is why ceramic screen printing was chosen.”

The artwork, called ‘Sky Ellipse’ was designed by Pearl, to create a moving projection of colour, following the movement of the sun throughout the day with light filtering down to platform level.

David Proto continued: “There are lots of IGU manufacturers out there but most only have experience in domestic supply, so if you’re looking for good commercial IGU suppliers your list comes down to about nine and to do what we wanted to do, just two, Cornwall Glass and one other supplier. With the scale of the installation, a really big factor.”

Measuring 45m X 7m and weighing in at around 14 tonnes of glass, the skylight was designed to bring light to the concourse below. Each IGU measuring 2250 X 1500mm and individually weighing 194kg.

www.cornwallglass.co.uk