.054 Fogcatcher
West Vancouver Municipal Hall Public Art
Spanning great length are three steel arcs landmarking the west entry court of the municipal hall. They spring open onto the sky, catching the air. On a foggy day, they recall sprawling old-growths, or towering vessels, shrouded in seafaring mystery. Close inspection reveals that the inside face of each arc is lined with nozzles. At certain programmed hours, more frequently during the dry season, fine mist will spray upward from these nozzles, enveloping both sides of the entry steps with fog. They create a soft gateway to a civic building that billows and shifts with the wind and visitors’ movement.
Entitled Fog Catcher, the public art installation at the District of West Vancouver municipal hall draws inspiration from an atmospheric phenomenon prevalent in the Pacific North Shore. It underscores our emotional and social tie with the weather, in its myriad manifestations. Fog occurs during a temperature inversion when a cool, moist air mass at low altitude is trapped beneath a layer of warmer air, which acts as a lid to prevent normal convective mixing, causing the air to fogged up underneath. Our mountainous coastline creates the ideal conditions: the large water bodies throughout the lower mainland supply the moisture, while the mountains create a sink at the foothills and the valleys, where the fog lingers and persists.
The curvilinear profile and levitating gesture of the public art not only reference the natural geography of West Vancouver, they counterbalance the orthogonal, static architectural space - currently dominated by the remnants of an arcaded façade, overshadowed by cantilevered slabs. The arcs are slightly tilted to create an anticipation of movement, gently guiding the visitors toward the entrance door. They are made of weathering steel; the material mass juxtaposes with the lightness of fog. They sit at the two landscaped areas flanking the entry steps, so that the mist may also nourish the surrounding plants.
Fog Catcher seeks to reveal evidence in our environment that becomes sensitively transparent when it is distilled into an art form. At times a nuisance, at times a welcoming respite from the bleak, amaemic winter days, the ephemeral phenomenon encapsulates West Vancouver’s intimate connection with the weather. By celebrating it at the entry of a municipal hall, the public art allows us to come to terms with the profundity of our climate ecosystem, its delicate balance and our civic responsibility in its preservation and protection.
West Vancouver, BC Canada
Public Art
Proposal 2018
Drawings by: Imu Chan
Animation by: Lea Ravel | Yang Yu | Imu Chan
