Vancouver's bright spot: Canopy of LED lights installed at Robson Square

Vancouver's new bright spot: Canopy of LED lights installed at Robson Square

"Canopy" at 800 Robson Square Plaza yet to be illuminated. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Update on November 15: The lighting previously scheduled to start on Thursday, November 16 has been delayed due to final necessary work. A new start date will be made public when available.

Over the past week, passersby through one of Vancouver’s busiest areas for pedestrian traffic — the street plaza above Robson Square — have likely noticed a very significant new public space enhancement to the area directly above their heads.

An intricate system of densely spaced hanging catenary programmable LED lights has been installed above 800 Robson Square Plaza — the pedestrian-only segment of Robson Street between Hornby and Howe streets on the south side of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

For the time being, the lighting system has yet to be turned on nightly, but the wait for its illumination will not be long at all.

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Joshua Davidson, the director of operations for Downtown Van (the local business improvement association), told Daily Hive Urbanized the system will be illuminated starting on the evening of this Thursday, November 16 — just in time for the holiday season.

“Canopy” at 800 Robson Square Plaza yet to be illuminated. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

This is the first major activation at the plaza, ever since construction on the permanent public space design — replacing the previous temporary layer of asphalt — reached completion in March 2021, which introduced concrete pavers, street furniture, light posts, and event-friendly infrastructure. The new catenary lighting system is suspended from the existing light posts.

Davidson says while the installation is intended to be temporary, they hope it can remain in place for awhile.

Based on a very rough visual estimate by Daily Hive Urbanized, thousands of LED lights are now hanging over the plaza.

The installation, aptly named “Canopy,” is designed by Vancouver-based immersive digital lighting studio Tangible Interaction, which also previously worked with Downtown Van on the “Field” interactive lighting and sound installation in the laneway behind the Orpheum Theatre.

Tangible Interaction was also behind Science World’s temporary “OH!” interactive public remote control for changing the geodesic dome’s exterior lighting, and Hudson Pacific Properties’ mushroom-like LED illuminated fixtures of the Dunsmuir Patio at Bentall Centre.

“Canopy” at 800 Robson Square Plaza yet to be illuminated. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Downtown Van’s catenary lighting project will likely inject new life into 800 Robson Square Plaza, encouraging people to linger rather than merely pass through, and make it one of downtown Vancouver’s most Instagrammable destinations starting this winter.

On the north side of the Vancouver Art Gallery at the plaza fronting West Georgia Street, the annual tradition of the Vancouver Christmas Tree lighting will return on Friday, December 1.

Daily Hive Urbanized will provide more details and lighting coverage of “Canopy” later this week.

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