Well, that was interesting. We don’t have to tell you that 2020 was a heck of a year. Our team went home in March… and we are mostly still there! Somehow though – our projects kept going, and we kept going, defending lighting for our clients. We at Gabriel Mackinnon Lighting Design are so grateful to still be doing what we love in the face of a global pandemic. So in lieu of our usual holiday mailer, here are a few highlights from a very unusual 2020:

JANUARY – FEBRUARY (The Before Times) The GMLD team was busy working on all sorts of lighting projects including the Ottawa Public Library and Archives, the West Memorial Building, the Lester B. Pearson Building, and even more fun than all of those – the Doc McStuffins exhibit at the Canadian Children’s Museum.

MARCH On the advice of public health officials, we transitioned to working at home. UV-C Germicidal Lighting was suddenly top of mind in the lighting industry, so we did some research and released some guidance for our clients. (TLDR: UV-C is not ready for architectural primetime in our humble opinion, but definitely has uses. You can read the whole post here!)

JUNE We learned that we were awarded an IES Illumination Award for our work on the Senate of Canada Building! This is kind of like the Grammys of lighting – so we were very honoured! Congrats to our superstar project team: Diamond Schmitt, KWC Architects, ERA Heritage Architects, and photographers Tom Arban and Doublespace. You can read the whole post here.

SEPTEMBER We completed aiming on the rehabilitated Calgary Historic City Hall – a project we have been working on since 2015. The restoration (led by the talented folks at Lemay) wrapped up in 2020. The facade features dynamic coloured fixtures, and can be illuminated to celebrate different holidays. We are currently coordinating a professional photo shoot, so keep an eye on our website for final photos!

NOVEMBER 2020 We completed commissioning on the St. James Cathedral in Toronto. The animation demonstrates a few of the lighting scenes we established, allowing a quieter night mode and celebratory all on mode. We are also currently setting up a professional photo shoot for this project, so keep an eye on our website for final photos!

DECEMBER 2020 Like so many of you, GMLD moved our annual Christmas party online. We had a cooking class catered by C’est Bon cooking school, which is just around the corner from our office in the Byward Market. We all enjoyed a stellar restaurant quality meal (pan seared bison!) cooked by us, complete with wine pairings. We would highly recommend Chef Georges and C’est Bon if you are looking for a fun party or a delicious meal, with tips from a professional chef! It was an excellent and creative way to cap off what has been a year of constant pivoting!

There is much more to say, but we will keep it short. We would just like to say: Thank you to our clients, current and past, for allowing us continue to do the work that we love, illuminating the best spaces for the best people. Thank you to the manufacturers and sales reps that help support us in our work. Thank you to our competitors and colleagues for continuing to inspire us! Thank you to our friends and family for supporting us through a challenging year. Please drop us a line if you would like to send a note to the team, or to discuss a project. We wish you a happy and restful holiday and we really hope to see more of you in 2021!