Royal Ontario Museum Announces Swarovski Chandelier

Libeskind Designs Chandelier for Michael Lee-Chin Crystal

ROM Announces Swarovski Chandelier
Libeskind Designs Chandelier for Michael Lee-Chin Crystal


(Toronto, Ontario – May 9, 2007) The ROM’s new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is getting a crystal of its own, when a new chandelier designed by architect Daniel Libeskind and donated by Swarovski, is installed over the grand staircase on the Lee-Chin Crystal’s fourth floor. Libeskind was on hand today at the ROM, to announce this new project and unveil his latest creation, the Spirit House Chair (see release titled “ROM Unveils Spirit House Chair,” issued May 9, 2007).

“We are so pleased to be working with a firm like Swarovski, internationally recognized for their use of light and crystal in the areas of fashion and design” said William Thorsell, Director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum. “This project creates a wonderful link between our galleries on the fourth floor dedicated to contemporary culture, fashion and design, and C5, the most exciting new dining destination in Toronto”
    
The inspiration for the dramatic, 29-foot long Libeskind-designed chandelier is the complex, structural steel skeleton that is now hidden under the glass and aluminium skin of the Lee-Chin Crystal. The intricate configuration of this one-of-a-kind lighting fixture is an inverted wireframe model reinterpreting the edges of the building’s architecture, which will stretch across the ceiling to emphasize the oblique corners of the contemporary Libeskind design.

Made from aluminium tubing, the chandelier will sparkle with approximately 130,000 encrusted Swarovski crystals. The crystals will be lit from underneath by fiber-optic lighting technology, creating a delicate, glowing lace.  The chandelier will be installed on the staircase between the Level 4 Institute for Contemporary Culture gallery and the Level 5 Crystal Five (C5) Restaurant Lounge.

"We are delighted to commission Daniel Libeskind to create this unprecedented work, which integrates Mr. Libeskind's compelling artistic view with the distinctive architecure of the new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building,” said Nadja Swarovski, Vice President of International Communications for Swarovski. “It is an honor for Swarovski to donate this chandelier to the Royal Ontario Museum, one of Canada's great cultural treasures."  

The ROM plans to unveil the installed chandelier in Fall 2007.

For more than a hundred years Swarovski, the Austrian family company based in Wattens in the Tyrol, has been the world's leading brand for cut crystal. Crystal jewellery stones and crystalline semi-finished goods for the fashion, jewellery and lighting industries are as much a part of the company's product range as gift articles, home accessories, and collectibles fashioned from faceted crystal. Swarovski's artistic and design abilities are evident in Daniel Swarovski Paris and Swarovski Jewellery, the company's accessory and jewellery ranges. Since 1995 visitors have been able to enjoy the ultimate crystal experience at the Swarovski Crystal Worlds. The Swarovski group also includes Tyrolit, which produces grinding tools and abrasives, and Swarovski Optik, the company's optics division, with its precision optics for hunting and nature observation. In 2005 Swarovski achieved group sales of Euro 2.14 billion with a total of approximately 17.000 employees. Discover the magic of crystal online at www.swarovski.com.

On June 2, 2007, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the centrepiece of the Renaissance ROM expansion project, opens to the public. The 175,000 square-foot, aluminium-and-glass-covered Lee-Chin Crystal will house seven permanent galleries overlooking Bloor Street West, a new main entrance and lobby, the ROM Museum Store, Crystal Five (C5) Restaurant Lounge and special events facilities, as well as Canada’s largest space for international exhibitions.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. Opened in 1914, Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world cultures has six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural science.

Renaissance ROM is an ambitious expansion and heritage renovation project that will reassert the Royal Ontario Museum as one of North America's great museums and a leading cultural attraction for the city, province and country.  For more information, please visit www.rom.on.ca/renaissance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
For more media information, interviews, or visuals, please contact:
Sarah Ruuska-Kiriliuk, Publicist, 416.586.5784; e-mail: sarahki@rom.on.ca
Kim Krikorian, Director of Communications, Swarovski, 212.935.4200 ext.191;
e-mail: kim.krikorian@SWAROVSKI.com

For 24-hour information in English and French, please call 416.586.8000 or visit the ROM’s web site at www.rom.on.ca