FCEC Stacks

It’s a high five! This public artwork is located in the southeast False Creek community and Olympic Village in Vancouver. The mandate of the work is to interpret the functioning of the False Creek Energy Centre and form a gateway element to the downtown of the city.

FCEC is an innovative, district energy plant which uses waste heat recovery processes to provide heat and hot water to the community. In honor of the Centre’s transfer of body heat into energy, the stacks are imbued with a human quality. Five finger-like stacks culminate in glowing fingernail forms that respond to the energy consumption of the neighbourhood. When the plant is providing lots of heat, the fingernails glow fiery red and orange. When less heat is required, they become a cooler blue.