This is the new home for Ottawa’s Kinetic Clock

The City of Ottawa says the Kinetic Clock, initially commissioned in 1989, is now located at Britannia Park. (City of Ottawa/release)

The Kinetic Clock is now located at Ottawa’s Britannia Park, 37 years after it was initially commissioned by the City of Ottawa and placed along Sparks Street.

The city announced on Thursday that the Kinetic Clock has been fully restored and “reinstalled in a setting that beautifully complements its unique design.” It’s located adjacent to the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre on Greenview Avenue, near Britannia Beach.

It was originally unveiled on Sparks Street, between Metcalfe and O’Connor streets, in 1989.

“Kinetic Clock is a hybrid of clock and sundial, blending science and art to explore the duality of time. Mechanical time is reflected by the sculpture’s moving elements, while natural time is represented through evolving shadow patterns cast by the sculpture,” the city said in a release.”

“On the summer solstice, these shadows gradually form a square – a nod to the passage of time through nature.”

The city says the Kinetic Clock was built using electronic and robotic technologies.

“The sculpture’s planes shift and rotate every 15, 30, and 45 minutes, to align on the hour,” the city said.

The Kinetic Clock was commissioned by the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton in 1989 from artist Andrew Stonyer.  According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Kinetic Clock was removed from Sparks Street in 2013.

“Its one-of-a-kind function and sculptural style are reflective of Stonyer’s unique approach to art, which is influenced by mathematics, geometry, and scientific principles,” the city said in a media release.”

Local company Heritage Grade conducted a full-scale restoration on the sculpture, which included surface repairs and repainting.

The city says Public Art staff and Facility Services selected the space in Britannia Park for the Kinetic Clock, “that allows both natural sunlight for shadow casting and proximity to electrical infrastructure at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre.”