The Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver is undergoing a major revitalization project that will see the city’s oldest church get seismic upgrades, a new zinc roof and a new bell tower.

The steel and stained glass steeple, to be located on the northeast side of the Anglican cathedral, will be the centrepiece of the $7.5-million renovation to the historic building at Georgia and Burrard.

Custom designed by Canadian artist Sarah Hall the glass image of windswept candlelight will encase the new bell spire. The image will wrap the top 60 feet of the 100 foot tall spire which will house four new bells. It employs opal, transparent, and diachroic glass containing micro levels of metals to split light. When illuminated at night, it creates a lively and colourful shimmering surface on the spire, like light on water.

Based in Toronto, Hall is an internationally recognized glass artist who specializes in large scale installations for places of worship. Other works include the Light of the World and Mysteries of Light windows in Holy Name Catholic Church in Vancouver. She has received numerous awards, including American Institute of Architects awards for the Lux Nova wind tower, a solar glass installation at Regent College on the UBC campus, and Lux Gloria windows at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon.

Construction on the project began in the spring of 2015, with the spire to be completed in time for the new bells to ring for Christmas 2015.