ORideau 2012

City of Ottawa, Rideau Street, Canada-proposal

Aluminum, steel, programmed LED lights, powder coat

This sculptural proposal incorporates the International Code of Signals used by vessels to communicate with one another on the water. Each flag represents individual letters of the alphabet and in various combinations can display a myriad of visual messages. ORideau offers a playful contemporary response while also creating a connection to history by referring to the surrounding waterways- Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau Rivers as a gateway to discovery, origins, wilderness and commerce. The vertical cubed forms uses text to spell out the word Rideau while the letter O is a singular cube. Programmed LED lights use colour to articulate the ebb and flow of the surrounding waterways.