Photo by Denis Bouvier
This photo of The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver depicts the Georgia St. entrance. If you look in the centre of the photo you’ll notice a lighter colour, and it appears that perhaps the building surface has been sandblasted. However, this area is a photo mural on mesh netting which is attached to scaffolding hidden behind it. The mural extends from the 2nd to the 18th floor, 61m tall and 41m wide.
Vancouver artist Robert Postma created a series of approximately 60 images using a robotic camera head. He then used a photo stitching package to create a 2 GB file. Finally, printers took the file and lined it up so it could be correctly fitted on the mesh netting, leaving us with this incredible effect.
This technique is a form of photo realism, and has been used on historic buildings undergoing renovation, not only to lessen the dust and debris, but to create a pleasing illusion. Another name associated with this technique is Trompe-l’oeil, French for “deceive the eye.” It’s a painting technique which creates a three dimensional effect. It was used by Greeks as long ago as the 5th century BCE; ancient Romans employed the technique on murals to create the effect of a larger room, and it can be found in paintings and frescos of the Italian Renaissance period. Today, the technique is still employed in a myriad of art forms like paintings, sculptures, and especially murals painted on the sides of buildings.
According to engineer Alex McCartney, these external renovations at the Fairmont are in year two of a 4-year plan. Behind the photo mural netting, the concrete between the brick work is being repointed. Drain work is also being updated and roofs are being refitted with waterproof membranes.
The Fairmont is the third incarnation of the Hotel Vancouver. The first Hotel Vancouver was built in 1888 at the corner of Georgia and Granville where the former Sears building presently sits. It was built by Canadian Pacific Railroad to house all the people migrating here on its new line. The second Hotel Vancouver, built in 1916 on the same site, was considered one of the finest in the British Empire. It was also built by the CPR and replaced the first Hotel Vancouver to accommodate Vancouver’s ever expanding population. The current Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, across from the Vancouver Art Gallery, was built in 1939 by the Canadian National Railroad, and was the home of the CBC until they moved into their present building at Hamilton and Georgia. Legendary band leader Dal Richards, who is still actively performing at the age of 95, began playing at the Fairmont in 1940 and did so regularly for 25 years.
Don Richardson
