GIANT, corner of Ontario and 5th Ave, Mount Pleasant Vancouver, Rebecca Bayer, 2018

The Pacific Northwest’s iconic Douglas Fir tree was chosen as an emblem for the face of the new Lightworks building.  The original structure was built almost entirely out of this local natural resource.

Douglas Fir was harvested from the Vancouver area and milled locally on the shores of False Creek and Burrard Inlet.  Lumber from these trees was the primary construction material for many local buildings across the city and around the region.

At 71′ tall, ‘GIANT’ represents a juvenile Douglas Fir tree, standing at the approximate height a real Douglas Fir might be in 2018, had it started from seed when the Lightworks building was first built in 1942. The name ‘GIANT’ plays with the notion of scale, as this species of tree living on the BC coast can actually grow 4-5 times larger than this (up to 350′ tall), and can live for over 400 years. 

As part of the project, parts of the lobby's interior was also lined with raw Douglas Fir cladding.  The wood is intended to age gracefully over time.

‘GIANT' is a reminder of our size and position in time and space.

Commission by PC Urban
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Art Consultation by Ballard Fine Art

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