We’re Just Gonna Hang This Here - Huge Chandelier to Light Up Vancouver Overpass

We’d be surprised if this project doesn’t turn into the city’s biggest cause of traffic accidents, but there’ still hope: the Vancouver city council has to vote for it first.

Its backstory is pretty simple: a company called Westbank is building an important real estate project not too far away called Vancouver House - a 52-story condo tower - and it didn’t like the looks of that dark overpass so close to its ambitious endeavor. Anyone who’s watched an American movie knows what happens in those magical places under the overpasses: anything ranging from loitering to drug dealing and murders.

Only this is Canada, so we could be talking about something a lot less drastic than this. However, the developer got in contact with Canadian artist of international fame Rodney Graham and put together this little project. The cost (which isn’t negligible at around $900,000) will be covered entirely by Westbank as part of its mandatory public art fee for buildings over 100,000 square feet.

The chandelier is a direct replica of an 18th-century design, but instead of crystals it will be using clear polymer for the glassy bits and LEDs for the actual lighting. Having it hanging from an overpass means that there will be plenty of vibrations, so no expensive materials will go into its making.

Of course, spending $900,000 on a 16-foot high chandelier doesn’t bode well with everybody, as Gizmodo reports. A lot of people argued that the money would be better spent clearing that area and perhaps helping the homeless people who live there, while also installing some unpretentious lighting systems. But since the whole project is developed and paid for by a private entity, the public’s hands are all but tied. After all, the city council must think that a free chandelier is better than no chandelier.