World-renowned artist, Douglas Coupland is adding a work of global significance to Calgary's vibrant public art scape.

The soon to open TELUS Sky building features a fully programmable public art installation by author/artist Doug Coupland, titled Northern Lights, which extends the length of the south façade. Thousands of integrated LED lights wrapped around each window frame or “pixel” of the building, will create a series of animation sequences which illuminate the building. The animations create patterns of colour and light designed to complement the building's curved skin and mineralogical underlying structure, transforming the project into a living sculpture, that reflects the beauty of constant change.

“For me, it was a chance to create something very analog on a system that is very digital. Like the building itself, there is an inherent contradiction, in that technology can be both a form of art as well as a tool for its creation" stated Coupland.

Coupland is creating a free downloadable app that will share details of how Northern Lights works. Over time, the app will reveal new interactions and versions to enable smartphone and tablet users to hold devices up to TELUS Sky's facade to see and read colour-specific messages that are otherwise concealed. These messages could be simple data like the date, time and weather, but could also become larger and quite elaborate as the technology allows for ingenuity.