Toronto Art Installation up for Prestigious CODAaward

Home to striking brutalist motifs, soaring arches and Evangeline (one of the city’s favourite new rooftop bars), Toronto’s Ace Hotel was quick to capture the attention of design and architecture lovers when it opened in the Fashion District last July. Today, it garners attention once again. This time, for a graphic art installation dubbed Horizon Line in the hotel’s triple-height lobby, and its spot among the Top 100 finalists for a prestigious CODAaward—granted to those who successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces.

The project is the result of a collaboration between artist A. Howard Sutcliffe of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and Simon Cooper of Two Degrees North, who collectively designed, fabricated and installed the art piece. Horizon Line features a puzzle of weathered, stained and untreated plywood pieces, designed to mimic the sparkling waters of Lake Ontario when illuminated by natural light entering through the hotel’s oversized west-facing windows.

The design was intended to offer a moment of orientation, situating viewers on the northern shore of one of the Great Lakes which served as Toronto’s point of entry for centuries.

Hundreds of commissioned art projects were submitted to the 11th Annual CODAawards: Collaboration of Design + Art. Horizon Line is among the 7 Canadian finalists in this international competition and the only one from Toronto. Others include Montreal’s Grand Quai, Hydrosphères and the Mi’kai’sto Exterior Monument in Stand Off, Alberta.

Public voting is open from July 18 – 31 and the two artworks that receive the most online votes will win a People’s Choice CODAaward.