Building Time-lapse: 9 months in 90 seconds!

In the 1990s, I worked for a company called Cognos, Inc. – a business consulting and software company founded in 1969. The company enjoyed a good level of success from the outset, and it grew consistently – even throughout the 1980 economic recession— and in 1986 they went public, appearing on the Toronto Stock Exchange as CSN. From there, the successful upward climb continued, such that by the last years of the 20th century they were outgrowing their premises, and in need of new digs for their Ottawa, Canada headquarters. Plans were drawn, and the project broke ground on Riverside Drive in Ottawa in October 1999.

As Director of Creative Services and Events, it was my job to capture a time-line of the construction, that spanned 9 months, right through a harsh Canadian winter! I decided to approach the job in two phases. First, I locked-off a MiniDV consumer video camera on the top floor of the original office, and surrounded it with “keep away” theatre stanchions. I set the camera to record on "interval".

As the building rose, I repositioned my camera on top of the newly completed parking garage, by building a wooden camera shelter on the roof, and from there I continued shooting the final phase. The shelter looked a bit like a big birdhouse, complete with open area for the camera lens, a locking back door, independent power supply and small light bulb to keep the camera warm.

Looking back these more than 20 years, I still think this time-lapse is awesome, if I do say so myself!

In 2008, Cognos was acquired by IBM and ceased to exist as an independent entity, but it lives on in spirit inside these very walls, now housing IBM offices.