Construction underway on "staircase to nowhere" art sculpture at Hastings Park

Artistic rendering of the "Home & Away" sculpture at Empire Field at Hastings Park (left) and construction progress as of September 19, 2022 (right). (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

After years of delays, construction is now well underway on an eye-catching sculptural public art piece for Empire Field in Hastings Park.

The functional staircase-like structure — officially named “Home & Away” — is now rising at the northwest corner of the field. It will have a height of more than 50 ft (17 metres), and it sits on an embankment that was previously used for Empire Stadium’s grandstands.

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Vancouver Park Board commissioners approved the public art installation in 2015, which attracted some controversy from area residents. At the time, it carried an estimated cost of $450,000.

While it functions like a staircase, the structure’s design is intended to resemble a sliver of the grandstands of the former stadium on the site. It will provide seating for over 40 people to have views of the turf playing fields and running track.

home away staircase bleacher empire field hastings park september 2022

Construction progress on “Home & Away” at Empire Field at Hastings Park, as of September 19, 2022. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The design is by Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, who are Seattle-based artists working under the studio name of Lead Pencil Studio. “Home & Away” is their first Canadian art commission, and they were selected by the Park Board from a design competition that invited experienced artists from British Columbia and Washington state.

Their design has undergone significant value engineering ever since. When the project was first approved by the Park Board, there were two staircase-like grandstand slivers, with each grandstand featuring signs that read “HOME” and “AWAY.” A slide was also incorporated from the structure’s mid-height as a playful way to descend to ground level.

But an updated artistic rendering now shows just a single grandstand sliver without a slide, and the structure has been slightly reoriented to provide better views of Empire Field.

Construction on “Home & Away” is scheduled to reach completion in Fall 2022.

Original 2015 design:

home away staircase bleacher empire field hastings park design 2015

Artistic rendering of the 2015 original design of “Home & Away” at Empire Field at Hastings Park. (Vancouver Park Board)

Final revised design:

Artistic rendering of the final revised design of “Home & Away” at Empire Field at Hastings Park. (Vancouver Park Board)

Construction progress on “Home & Away” at Empire Field at Hastings Park, as of September 19, 2022. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The 33,000-seat Empire Stadium was built in time for Vancouver’s hosting of the 1954 Empire Games, now known as the Commonwealth Games. It was the original home of the CFL BC Lions and NASL Vancouver Whitecaps, until the opening of BC Place Stadium in 1983.

In 1993, Empire Stadium was demolished due to its advancing age and reduced use following the opening of BC Place Stadium.

Empire Stadium made a short one-year return between Summer 2010 and Summer 2011 when a new temporary home was required for the BC Lions due to the extensive renovations being performed on BC Place Stadium. The $14 million, temporary, 27,500-seat “Empire Field” stadium was built on the same footprint, with the 2010 Olympics’ temporary grandstands reused for parts of the venue.

pne empire stadium ski jump vancouver 1958

The former Empire Stadium at Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver Archives)

empire field pne hastings park vancouver stadium 2010 2011

The temporary Empire Field stadium on the former site of Empire Stadium, 2010-2011. Captured during a CFL BC Lions game. (Unitech Construction Management)

The current configuration of turf playing fields, a running track, basketball courts, parkour, playground, a bike park, and a monument to “The Miracle Mile” race held at the site during the 1954 Empire Games is the direct result of the post-2011 permanent conversion after the removal of the temporary stadium. Local landscape architectural firm PFS Studio is behind the overall design concept of Empire Field’s public park uses.

In 2018, a 120-ft-tall (36 metre) “ladder to nowhere” sculpture was erected on the median of Kingsway near Gladstone Street as a public art contribution from a newly completed development.

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