A Sound Sculpture for North York

Paul Raff’s Limelight Bandshell Wins Design Excellence Award

While it looks like the oyster shell Botticelli painted for Venus, Limelight Bandshell by Paul Raff Studio is no shrinking violet. Installed in Lee Lifeson Art Park in North York, the steel sculpture is designed to make noise. Taking its name from a hit Rush song, “Limelight,” the parabolic shape (a riff on coastal sound mirrors from the 30s, which helped English military guards detect airstrikes) concentrates and reflects sound.

Ringed by the park’s amphitheatre seating, the artwork becomes the focal point for open-air concerts. Glass mosaic tiles reflect and absorb the light, almost like camera flashes from a nocturnal audience. Paulraffstudio.com