Three hundred and forty two metres above Toronto, the CN Tower's Lower Observation Level holds a wall of light that watches the people watching it. Artmosphere shows original works by Canadian and Indigenous artists, and our job was the translation. From taking a beaded panel, a watercolour or an illustration/animation, and rebuilding each one in TouchDesigner as a living system that reacts to whoever is standing in front of it.
That work only exists because of what arrives upstream. AVA Animation & Visual Arts led the project, found and commissioned every artist, and held curatorial and design control from first sketch to final frame. They are exacting about it, and it shows: the material they hand over is considered enough that the interactivity can be a reading of the artwork rather than an effect layered on top.
Underneath it, we specified and built the whole technical stack. Three servers, depth sensing and motion tracking across the floor, three video walls with the largest at forty feet, plus column and elevator displays, all held in step and sequenced against an original score, with a low sensory mode that quiets the room on scheduled mornings.
Two builds. The first went live in 2023 across four seasons of commissioned work.
Seasons
50 Years & FIFA World Cup 2026
In 2026 we were brought back for the Tower's 50th anniversary: new commissions, an archival journey through five decades, and bespoke scenes for the FIFA World Cup where the crowd on the wall answers the crowd on the floor.
Delivered alongside Sorkhabi International.
