Fact Sheet: Unfinished Arch

Unfinished Arch
Toronto, Ontario
 

Overview


Unfinished Arch is a permanent, large-scale interactive public artwork by internationally renowned artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, commissioned by Waterfront Toronto in partnership with the City of Toronto. Located at Sherbourne Common, the work takes the familiar form of an arch and leaves it deliberately incomplete, requiring human touch to activate and momentarily complete the structure. The artwork marks a significant milestone as this will be Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s first permanent public artwork in Canada, and serve as the centrepiece of the East Bayfront Public Art Master Plan.

 

About the Artwork

  • Height: 9.1 metres
  • Extension span: 14 metres from a single ground support
  • Weight:    25,000 lbs (equivalent to 8 cars) 
  • Foundation depth: Nearly 50 feet 
  • Material: Stainless steel with integrated lighting
  • Interaction: Touch-activated: visitors complete the arch by touching its floating truncated edge, triggering illumination through the structure
  • Lighting: Over 1,000 embedded LED lights are installed. Illumination remains active only while contact is maintained, returning to its unfinished state when released. 
     

Project Team

  • Artist: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (Antimodular / Atelier Lozano-Hemmer)
  • Fabrication & Installation: Eventscape (Toronto)
  • Commissioner: Waterfront Toronto
  • City partner: City of Toronto

 

Key Milestones

  • Design completion: 2025
  • Construction start: September 2025
  • Public unveiling: June 1, 2026

 

Accessibility


Unfinished Arch is the first Waterfront Toronto public art commission to be reviewed by Waterfront Toronto’s Accessibility Advisory Committee. Feedback from the committee informed circulation paths, clearances, and interaction zones, helping to ensure the installation reflects the principles of the Waterfront Accessibility Design Guidelines and is welcoming to all.
 

About Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (born Mexico City, 1967; lives and works in Montréal) is a Mexican-Canadian media artist whose practice centres on creating platforms for public participation using technologies such as robotic lights, digital fountains, computerized surveillance, media walls, and telematic networks. His interactive works are described as “anti-monuments for people to self-represent.” Visit the artist's website for more information: www.lozano-hemmer.com

 

 

About Eventscape

Eventscape is an award-winning art and architectural fabrication company with three manufacturing facilities in Toronto and a studio in New York City. For over 30 years, Eventscape has partnered with artists, architects, and designers to bring ambitious interior and exterior works to life through advanced parametric modelling and state-of-the-art fabrication. Learn more about Eventscape at www.eventscape.com

 

About Waterfront Toronto

Created in 2001, Waterfront Toronto is the revitalization corporation leading the transformation of Toronto’s waterfront. Working with the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the City of Toronto, in partnership with Indigenous communities and the private sector, Waterfront Toronto delivers the infrastructure and development needed to unlock new housing, connect communities through transit, and create vibrant destinations. Learn more at www.waterfrontoronto.ca