SPECIAL FEATURES AT GREAT CANADIAN RESORT TORONTO

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Eventscape had the privilege of working with Great Canadian Entertainment and CGL ARCHITECTS in association with CHRIS DIKEAKOS ARCHITECTS INC. on both the exterior and interior of the massive new Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. Eventscape also worked with PUBLIC ART MANAGEMENT and Cree/Métis multi-media artist, REBECCA BAIRD to fabricate and install the North Star, a custom exterior public art sculpture. Eventscape also developed, fabricated and installed exterior metal panels for the parking garage and a metal grid ceiling system for the casino gaming floor.

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

North Star: Exterior Public Art Sculpture

Eventscape worked with Public Art Management and Rebecca Baird, a Nehiyaw Cree/Métis multimedia artist to respond to the international open call for submissions. After the submission was successfully awarded, Rebecca Baird further developed the design for the North Star and Eventscape worked closely with her to fabricate and install the large scale public art feature at the Casino entrance using laser cut aluminum with random raised sections in a palette of metallic copper, gold and silver tones complemented by muted tones in blue, yellow and brown. The North Star was approximately 16’ tall and 2’ deep and weighed 15,900 lbs. It was pre-assembled in two sections and installed onsite using minimal parts.

Rebecca Baird’s Background Inspiration on the North Star:

The North Star, the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor, has been used world-wide for navigation and wayﬁnding purposes since time immemorial.
The Cree language sometimes refers to it as Keewatin, which means “Going Home Star”, or Ekakatchet Atchakos, which translates to English as “It Stands Still. Virtually all cultures have noted the North Star’s brilliance and the guiding importance of its celestial position.

North Star is a ﬁtting salute to the grand Port Cochere entranceway to the Hotel. The sculpture’s palette reﬂects metallic copper, gold and silver tones, mirroring glimpses of the sky at day, while softly lit at nightfall to create a luminous eye-catching showcase. Additionally, the platform anchoring the sculpture is placed underground, leaving North Star to be perceived as standing on its two bottom points.

North Star, a signature wayﬁnding marker meaningfully greets and guides guests arriving at the Hotel.

“Eventscape is an exceptional fabricator.
The whole team truly listen if you bring up any artistic questions concerning the overall look of the final work and quickly provide effective solutions.”

Rebecca Baird
Cree/Métis
She/Her
I acknowledge with deep gratitude and respect as a guest I am living and thriving on the territory of the Michi Saagig Nishnawbe, Anishnabeg, the Chippewa,the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. Now Home to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples alike, their Elders and Knowledge Keepers both young and old, continue to share ancestral as well as contemporary cultural contributions that connect across generations. I have family and ancestors from Treaty 6 territory and my re-settler ancestors lived and worked in northern Ontario, the homelands of the Algonquin, Ojibwa and Cree First Nations.

“Public Art Management has had the pleasure of working with the Eventscape team for over a decade and they continuously deliver world class results. Their ability to make Rebecca Baird’s vision come to reality for the North Star at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto was absolutely superb.”

Ben Mills
Vice President
Public Art Management

Parking Garage: Exterior Perforated Panels

The staggered exterior panels create rippled curtains on the north, south and west side of the parking garage. Eventscape fabricated over 500 single and double panels using bent custom perforated metal, powder coated in a champagne colour and attached with custom adjustable galvanized brackets.

Casino: Interior Ceiling Grid

The casino ceiling was a custom and functional decorative ceiling grid of approximately 100,000 sq.ft. or 9,265 sqm. Eventscape fabricated and installed an all-in-one creative solution, a complete system of ceiling modules integrating all cabling, speakers, security cameras and decorative baffles.

The vast space utilized only four types of beam extrusions, totaling 4.4km in length. These custom extrusions were specifically designed to integrate the client’s lighting, speakers, and other electronics, while incorporating a standard T-slot system for enhanced flexibility with off-the-shelf hardware, ensuring future adaptability. The aluminum used amounts to 109,279 lbs. (50 tons). Additionally, provisions for cable management were meticulously integrated above these extrusions, facilitating easy installation by other trades, and allowing the client to add future grazing lights along the angled baffle system. This custom fabrication was engineered with a focus on manufacturing efficiency, seamless installation, and long-term usability.