Towering over the path of the walkway on the back entrance of University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) building at the north Oshawa location, the ‘gate’ is hard to miss.
Designed by Quebec artist André Fournelle, the piece called Gate to the Future serves as a focal point for the campus and the ‘harmonious relationship between art and technology, form and function’, according to the university.
The piece, which was donated to UOIT in 2013 by Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life as part of the University’s 10th anniversary celebrations, is intended to inspire and spark youthful minds to dream their dreams.
The gate features three main design components, which hold their own symbolism:
The sculpture’s east/west orientation provides the best reflection of the sun from the central vertical dome. The east view encompasses the university and the achievements to date, where the western view faces undeveloped land and symbolizes the potential growth of the university.
According to a media release distributed by the university, the inspiration for the piece was the music and sound records sent into space in 1977 by NASA on the Voyager spacecraft.
“The reference to records explains the dome covered with gold leaf and this links with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology whose vocation is the promotion of creative, technical and scientific knowledge and research,” says Fournelle via the release.