4th Street Underpass

The 4th Street Underpass in Calgary is a main gateway between the Beltline and Downtown communities, dating back to the 1880’s. In 2010 the City of Calgary identified the Underpass as a priority upgrade project.

The 4th Street Underpass Enhancement aimed to create a unique space of discovery from multiple aspects, and to create a sense of connectivity and progression from one neighborhood to the next. Traxon e:cue’s lighting (Allegro Linear and Dot) and controls (LCE2FX) were employed to cover the walls of the underpass with 22,000 individually controllable pixel nodes. These nodes create an interactive artistic display, triggered by cameras integrated to track pedestrian movement along the walkway and mirror their movement via pixelated light shows in real time.

As a result of the lighting installation, pedestrians can now safely travel along the sidewalk – a purposeful sensory environment – no longer just a walking path, but also a piece of public art.