Luminous Veil

Luminous Veil

The Luminous Veil is a suicide barrier added to the Prince Edward Viaduct in Toronto, Canada. First approved by the Toronto City Council in 1998, the construction of the Luminous Veil was delayed for years due to funding concerns. During the delays in construction, the viaduct was the site of an estimated 60 suicides. [http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-05-08/news_insight.php NOW: Where spirits live, May 8 - 14, 2003 ] ] The city council originally approved a C$2.5 million budget for the Luminous Veil. However, the minimum bid for construction was C$5.5 million. After a year delay, they endorsed a fundraising campaign to raise the rest of the money. Construction was completed in 2003 at the cost of C$5.5 million dollars, with C$2.5 million coming from taxpayers.http://www.eopa.ca/newsletters/DialogueNL.June2001.pdf] Since completion of the barrier, there have been zero suicides on this bridge. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/03/MNG9UFHK811.DTL LETHAL BEAUTY] ] [ [http://www.sfist.com/archives/2005/01/19/theres_stairs_of_course_but_some_prefer_to_take_the_fast_way_down.php There's Stairs, of Course, but Some Prefer to Take the Fast Way Down] ]

The Luminous Veil was designed jointly by architect and University of Waterloo Professor Derek Revington and engineers at Halcrow Yolles, a structural engineering firm in Toronto. It consists of over 9,000 rods, each 5 meters tall, spaced 12.7 cm (5 inches) apart and held in place by an angled steel frame. The tensile structure was difficult to analyze and required several tests at the University of Toronto. The design, which is an effective suicide barricade without significantly disrupting the view from the viaduct, won the 1999 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. [http://www.cdnarchitect.com/issues/ISarticle.asp?id=70662&story_id=CA99959&issue=08012001&PC=&RType=]

Some critics have argued that rather than preventing suicides, the Luminous Veil merely caused them to shift to other bridges in the area instead.Fact|date=February 2007

While the barrier was intended to be illuminated from the top horizontal member, the lighting was never installed due to cost. However, the name "Luminous Veil" continues to be used.

The band Barenaked Ladies' 2003 song "War on Drugs" contains the lyrics:

Quotation|Near where I live there's a viaduct Where people jump when they're out of luck Raining down on the cars and trucks below They've put a net there to catch their fall Like that'll stop anyone at all What they don't know is when nature calls, you go

Barenaked Ladies singer/guitarist Steven Page lives in Riverdale, very close to the viaduct, and has introduced the song in concert with the story of the Luminous Veil.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Veil Nebula — Western Veil nebula, 24 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon Credit: Joseph D. Schulman Observation data: J2000.0 epoch Type …   Wikipedia

  • Suicide barrier — [ Luminous Veil on Toronto s Prince Edward Viaduct prevents jumps] A suicide barrier is a barrier on a bridge (often a so called suicide bridge known for suicide attempts) or other tall structure designed to prevent people from attempting suicide …   Wikipedia

  • Prince Edward Viaduct — Infobox Bridge bridge name= Prince Edward Viaduct caption= official name= also known as= Bloor Street Viaduct carries= 5 lanes of Bloor Street/Danforth Avenue, and the Bloor Danforth Subway crosses= Don River locale= Toronto, Ontario, Canada… …   Wikipedia

  • Prince Edward Viaduct — 43.67528 79.36389 Koordinaten: 43° 40′ 31″ N, 79° 21′ 50″ W f1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • H. S. Bhabra — Hargurchet Singh Bhabra (June 7, 1955 June 1, 2000) was a British Asian writer and broadcaster who settled in Canada.Bhabra was born in Mumbai, India and moved to England with his family in 1957. The family eventually settled in Beare Green,… …   Wikipedia

  • Suicide bridge — This article is about bridges used to commit suicide. For Suicide Bridge in London, see A1 road (London) A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently to commit suicide, most typically by jumping off and into the water below (because a fall from… …   Wikipedia

  • List of suicide sites — The following is a list of current and historic sites frequently chosen to commit suicide, usually by jumping. Some of the sites listed have installed suicide barriers, and other precautions.Exact numbers of victims are sometimes difficult to… …   Wikipedia

  • University of Waterloo School of Architecture — The School of Architecture is one of the professional schools of the University of Waterloo. It is part of the Faculty of Engineering and is located on a satellite campus in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Some of Canada s most prominent architects… …   Wikipedia

  • Suicide — For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). Suicide Classification and external resources …   Wikipedia

  • literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”