Role: Structural engineering services for the foundation, support post, and the back-up structure that supports the 'skin' of the spherical structure.
‘Light, the Universe and Everything’ is a 6-metre (18-foot) giant glowing steel ball sculpture. Created by Jeff de Boer, one of Calgary’s most celebrated artists, the sculpture melds static metal elements with digital kinetic features and is guided by a master computer to transform from a bold, stationary sphere by day into a dazzling sea of light and movement set to music at night. Althought the piece is located at one of the city’s main intersections outside the upscale boutique-style Hotel Arts, it is visible blocks away.
This vibrant work, which took more than 1,300 hours to design and build, is made from 144 overlapping plates covered by nine rows of 16 wavy-edged panels. The ball lights up from the inside thanks to 736 LED lights that can each emit up to 4,000 different hues. The lights are divided into 16 strings that are operated by separate computers.
Halcrow Yolles designed the sculpture’s foundation, support post and back-up structure. The engineering team was responsible for ensuring that the fabrication of the spherical shape, the connection to its many outer elements and its installation were simplified. The foundation and support structures also had to coordinate with a multitude of electrical requirements and avoid interfering with the piece’s intricate lighting system, all while allowing access to the inside of the sculpture for maintenance.