Steps from Lake Shore Boulevard, a long road that follows the edge of Lake Ontario in downtown Toronto, the Tip Top Tailor Building (1929) is an Art Deco, Ontario Heritage waterfront landmark. The iconic building was restored to its original condition and the addition of modern loft apartments with elements of the outside entrance, notably the water fountain, was restored.
The building manager of Tip Top reached out to us for options on lighting upgrades, as the fountain was lit by traditional halogen lighting and they were looking for a more energy-efficient solution. Initially, they were only interested in white LED, but during our site audit, we recommended a more visually appealing option, by using our RGBACL LED lights.
The site manager was also curious about how to solve the problem that has plagued them for years. The fountain is in a wind tunnel, and once the feature is turned on, it splashes well outside the basin if there is high wind. Options were discussed, including a wind sensor and variable frequency drive (VFD) for the pump, that would adjust the flow depending on the wind speed detected by the sensor. Due to annual budget constraints, they chose to focus on the lighting first and will revisit the wind system next year.
On inspection by co-owner David L’Heureux, sales lead, Harleen Kang and our Customer Success Technician, Donna Stermieri, confirmed that the current system was compatible to upgrade to the more energy-efficient and cost-effective LED lighting system. The fountain is now lit by our latest RGBACL technology that provides a wide spectrum of colours to illuminate the fountain and is controlled by our latest in-house DMX controller, WATERlab CONTROL (WLCC). WLCC allows us to provide remote support moving forward and gives them the option to purchase custom colour shows for holiday festivities and special events like the PRIDE Parade that goes past their front entrance along Lakeshore Boulevard.
Tip Top Lofts is an excellent example of a simple and impactful urban renewal project. The look of the original fountain, which only had white halogen lights, is now elevated using our latest RGBACL LED lighting technology and our WLCC DMX control technology for fast and easy changes to shows.
Tip Top Lofts has not only gained a new aesthetic look for residents and passers-by; they’ve chosen to implement an effective system that provides substantial energy and cost savings.
