North Vancouver
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall): Full Spectrum
On 25, Feb 2022 | In infrastructure, News, Project | By Admin
We took advantage of the beautiful February weather to go and see MERGE fully complete. This short video follows all 356m of the acoustic sound barrier that lies at the foot of Lynn Valley, between the Fern Street overpass and Lynnmour Creek along the newly reconfigured section of the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1). The twenty naturalistic colours used in MERGE represent a selection of local flora, fauna and landmarks specific to the Lynnmour community and area.
@solidrockfencing
@KCIKraftConsultingInc
@NVanDistrict
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MERGE (2022) Rebecca Bayer, 356m x 4m, Powder-coated Aluminum Acoustic Panels,
Trans-Canada Highway @ Keith Road, Lynnmour, District of North Vancouver, territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
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MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Update: BANANA SLUG
On 08, Dec 2021 | In infrastructure, Inspiration, News, Project | By Admin
MERGE features twenty colours representing a selection of local flora, fauna and landmarks specific to the Lynnmour community and Seymour River area, including the beloved Banana Slug.
One of our favourite images from the MERGE installation was taken by Jason Hardy from @solidrockfencing. Jason took this incredible photograph of an actual local Banana Slug sliding out from between panels in the Banana Slug segment just after they had been stored in a grassy area since the Spring.
Reconfiguring this section of Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) is a large and complex undertaking and not without a one or two unforeseen challenges… such as the huge lamp post that was installed immediately in front of the ‘Banana Slug’ section!
Thanks to the friendly team at @solidrockfencing and @KCIKraftConsultingInc we were able to carefully reposition the Banana Slug panel and complete the 4m tall and 356m spectrum with the Banana Slug unobstructed 🙂
@solidrockfencing
@KCIKraftConsultingInc
@NVanDistrict
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MERGE (2021) Rebecca Bayer, 356m x 4m, Powder-coated Aluminum Acoustic Panels,
Trans-Canada Highway @ Keith Road, Lynnmour, District of North Vancouver, territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
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MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Update: North Shore News
Many thanks to Brent Richter and Mike Wakefield from the North Shore News for this article about ‘MERGE’ #mergesoundwall.
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“For too long, it’s been a traffic jam through a construction site. But the bottom of The Cut is taking on a whole new look.
Artist Rebecca Bayer is putting the final touches on Merge, a 366-metre-long shock of colour stretching along Highway 1 between Mountain Highway and Fern Street.
It is one of the final pieces of the $200-million Lower Lynn Improvement Project, intended to shield the Inter River neighbourhood from highway noise. But it’s also now likely the largest single piece of public art on the North Shore.
“An acoustic barrier wall could be very mundane and boring, but my hope with the bright colours is that it is more interesting and vibrant from both sides. It can be experienced at a slow pace, but also a fairly quick pace if you’re driving along the highway, and it sort of blurs together as you drive by,” she said. “I get pretty excited by public art that really blends with the infrastructure or architecture, and it just becomes part of something that was already going to be there anyway.”
Bayer chose the 20 different colours specifically because they are found in the flora, fauna and landmarks from the Lynn Valley area. Bayer consulted with the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre to match colours with individual species like the red-backed salamander, Pacific chorus frog and licorice fern. She then tried out different permutations to come up with the pattern that exists there today. “There is quite an amazing pocket of nature right there,” she said. “It made sense to try to work with the natural palette in some way.”
On the Inter River side, the names of the species appear on some panels, which Bayer said she hopes will enable Merge to educate as well as beautify.
Lori Phillips, the District of North Vancouver’s public art officer who helped in the selection process of Bayer for the project, said it does both. “Merge is a perfect example of the magic that can happen when artists are added to infrastructure projects. Suddenly a rather understated sound wall is transformed into a dynamic public artwork that is free and accessible for everyone to enjoy,” she said. “The District of North Vancouver’s public art program, was thrilled to partner with the [Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure] on this project and we know that the residents of Lynnmour, along with the thousands of daily commuters and travellers on Highway 1 will enjoy its masterful merge of colour and story, for years to come.”
Even as sound barriers/art canvasses go, the panels are a “world-class sound attenuation product” designed to neutralize sound, not just bounce it away from residences, said Mark Hersey, managing partner of Solid Rock Fencing, the company contracted to install the 623 panels.
Today, there are just a few gaps in the wall, which will be filled when the final panels arrive from Europe, Hersey said.
The final components of the Lower Lynn Improvement Project, including combining the Main Street and Dollarton Highway on-ramps into one with signalized traffic control, are expected to come online later this fall.”
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Special thanks on this project go out to:
Jay Porter, BC Transportation and Infrastructure
Erin Moxton, North Vancouver District
Lori Phillips, North Vancouver Recreation & Culture
Tamsin Guppy, Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre
Rainer Kraft, KCI Kraft Consulting Inc.
Mark Hersey and Jason Hardy, Solid Rock Fencing Ltd.
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MERGE (2021) Rebecca Bayer, 356m x 4m, Powder-coated Aluminum Acoustic Panels,
Trans-Canada Highway @ Keith Road, Lynnmour, District of North Vancouver, territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
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More info:
http://www.spacemakeplace.com/portfolio/merge-lynnmour-sound-wall/
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Update: Colourful Transformation
On 17, Sep 2021 | In infrastructure, Make, Place, Project | By Admin
It’s been another productive week at MERGE. We want to offer a special thanks to Mark Hersey, Jason Hardy and the team from Solid Rock Fencing for their special attention to detail and careful installation of the 623 colourful acoustic panels. This project is starting to transform the landscape and has already made a huge difference in reducing the traffic noise level in the neighbouring Lynnmour community.
It is all coming together very nicely and everyone is excited to see the wall complete in the next few weeks.
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall – 2021), will feature twenty naturalistic colours which represent a selection of local flora, fauna and landmarks specific to the Lynnmour community and area. Merge stands at 4m tall and spans 356m along the newly reconfigured section of the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) between Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and Lynn Creek. The acoustic dampening, sound wall sits between the highway and the residential neighbourhood along Keith Road and is clad in colourful powder-coated aluminum panels. The panels have been carefully configured to produce a giant, site-specific spectrum designed to be viewed by both passing traffic and residents in nearby communities.
@solidrockfencing
@KCIKraftConsultingInc
@NVanDistrict
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Update: Waidhofen, Austria
On 11, Mar 2021 | In infrastructure, Make, News, Place, Project | By Admin
Thanks to FORSTER and Rainer Kraft from Kraft Consulting for their recent photos of the colourful acoustic panels that have now been fabricated at Forster’s factory in Waidhofen, Austria. Later this summer (2021) these panels will be installed along side 356m of Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) between Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and Lynn Creek in the District of North Vancouver.
The public artwork, MERGE, will feature twenty naturalistic colours representing a selection of local flora, fauna and landmarks specific to the Lynnmour community and area. The ~620 powder-coated aluminum panels have been carefully configured to produce a giant site-specific spectrum designed to be viewed by both passing traffic and residents in nearby communities.
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Panels: FORSTER. Waidhofen, Austria
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Panels: FORSTER. Waidhofen, Austria
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Panels: FORSTER. Waidhofen, Austria
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Panels: FORSTER. Waidhofen, Austria
MERGE (Lynnmour Sound Wall) Panels: FORSTER. Waidhofen, Austria
‘Storytelling’ installed!
Earlier this week our latest piece of public art, ‘Storytelling’ was installed!
IMu Chan inspecting the installation of ‘Storytelling’ at Chief Mathias Joe Park, North Vancouver, BC.
Rebecca Bayer of spacemakeplace design worked in collaboration with IMu Chan of FSOARK Architects, in close partnership with the City of North Vancouver and local Squamish Nation representatives on this project. It is part of the soon-to-be-complete renovation of Chief Mathias Joe Park in North Vancouver, BC.
‘Storytelling’ as seen from the soon to be completed playground at Chief Mathias Joe Park.
‘Storytelling’ is inspired by a story about the ‘Twin Sisters’ who brought peace to the region and were transformed into Vancouver’s iconic peaks more commonly known today as the ‘The Lions’.
The Sisters can be appreciated from multiple angles.
Our special thanks to Toby’s Cycle Works, the metal fabricators and installers of ‘Storytelling’. Thank you to the City of North Vancouver for making this project happen!
Toby and Tito from Toby’s Cycleworks making final adjustments to ‘Storytelling’
Stay tuned for official park opening date – coming soon.
STORYTELLING – getting ready for final production
Storytelling – Final Production Drawings
The final production drawings are ready. Next step is the fabrication and preparation to install STORYTELLING this Fall at Chief Mathias Joe Park in North Vancouver, BC.
STORYTELLING – mini maquette looking good
IMu Chan holding the MDF Mini Maquette
Rebecca and IMu made this mini maquette of one of the “Two Sisters” before STORYTELLING goes to final production. It is exciting to see a 3D preview! The finished STORYTELLING sculptures will be 62″ tall and fabricated from cut aluminum.
The Two Sisters
On 25, May 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
Chief Mathias Joe Capilano
Chief Mathias Joe (1854 – 1910) was a great Squamish chief who was known as a powerful orator and renowned storyteller who fought hard to defend the legacy of his people and culture.
Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn’
Like many of his stories, the tale of ‘The Two Sisters’ is deeply rooted in the local land of North Vancouver and the Capliano area and has an important message of reconciliation, sharing and peace. ‘The Two Sisters’ tells of how the two iconic peaks, now known as ‘The Lions’ came to stand over the what has become Vancouver.
E. Pauline Johnson
Also known as Chief Joe and Capiliano Joe, this incredible man once travelled all the way to London, England to address King Edward directly about settling land claims in British Columbia. It was while he was in England that he met the Canadian writer Pauline Johnson. Johnson, of Mowhawk and English decent, spent her last years living in Vancouver and recording the amazing tales told by her friend Chief Mathias Joe.
Legends of Vancouver
In 1911 some of these stories, including ‘The Two Sisters’ were published in her book Legends of Vancouver. Johnson helped share these local legends with the English speaking public and now serve to remind Vancouver’s newer inhabitants of the area’s long and proud history.
According to the legend, Vancouver’s twin peaks, now commonly known as ‘The Lions’ were originally named Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn’ (the Twin Sisters) long ago by a very powerful man known as the Great Tyee of the Caplianos. The Great Tyee ruled over the Capilano Canyon area and was a formidable warrior leader who prided himself on always winning battles against the neighbouring tribes. He had two beautiful daughters who were reaching the age at which it was customary to hold a great celebration in honour of their womanhood. The Great Tyee loved his daughters very much and upon their birthday he told them they could have anything that they wished for. The girls gave the offer careful consideration and decided to ask their father to invite the all the tribes that he was presently at war with to attend the upcoming celebration as a gift of peace. Because the Great Tyee was a man of his word he sent out an invitation across the land and sea to welcome all local tribes to a fabulous feast and joyous celebration. Vast quantities of salmon and olallieberries were served and there were many days and nights of happy singing and dancing.
The Two Sisters
After the celebration was over, hostile war songs ceased and a great and lasting brotherhood was sealed between the warring tribes. The daughters brought long-lasting peace to the area and the Great Tyee made them immortal by setting their memory forever in a high place in the mountains to watch over the Pacific Coast and the Caplilano Canyon.