True North: Lux Nova
Wind Tower, Regent College, UBC

Sarah Hall is currently constructing the first stained glass installation in North America to utilize photovoltaic cells. The installation is the central element of a Wind Tower which is being built at Regent College on the campus of UBC in Vancouver. The Wind Tower is designed by architect Clive Grout, who is internationally recognized for his sophisticated and distinctive integrations of buildings and art. The highly visible and publicly accessible 40-foot-high wind tower incorporates 144 square feet of photovoltaic art glass. The Wind Tower and dynamic art glass will be completed in the fall of 2006.  
 
Photovoltaic cells are a nearly perfect energy source, as they generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. The photovoltaic array, embedded between two panes of glass, is composed of thin silicon and metal cells that convert sunlight into electricity.  
 
The installation also utilizes laminated dichroic glass, which is used extensively in the space industry for windshields on spacecraft. Coated with thin layers of metal oxides, dichroic glass is both completely transparent and totally reflective. This produces rainbows – in both transmitted and reflected light – that constantly change as the glass reflects the trees, sky, sun, clouds, even shadows and moonlight.  
 
The energy collected by the photovoltaic cells powers the LED lighting in the Wind Tower. The slowly changing coloured lights are synchronized to the music from Oliver Schroer's album, Camino. The installation also incorporates the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus and it is still spoken in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran.  
 
“The Wind Tower and art glass installation are a perfect expression of the values held at Regent College,” says President Rod Wilson. “Our trans-denominational school is committed to the integration of faith into all spheres of life, including the arts and the environment. With its dependence on the ever-changing beauty of wind, light and colour, the Wind Tower and art glass are a majestic addition to our campus.” The $10 million Library is the centerpiece in Regent’s expansion campaign.  
 
Artist Sarah Hall has constructed large-scale art glass installations throughout North America and Europe. “Stained glass has a 1,000-year history,” she says. “Using photovoltaic and dichroic glass is one way of bringing new technology to an art form that most people consider traditional and unchanging. The integration of a wind tower with solar energy gives a strong message concerning our stewardship of earth.”  
 
“By forging art with a source of energy, we create a powerful image about how we can live in this world – it enables us to dream about who we can be in this world and how we articulate our stories,” she says.  
 
For further information, contact:  
Peter O’Brien  
obrien@carboncomm.com