Lyon Square
TURNING CONCRETE INTO CANVAS; LIVESPACE INTEGRATION’S RECENT TRANSFORMATION OF LYON SQUARE
Wedged between DeVos Place and the Amway Hotel, Lyon Square is an important hub in downtown Grand Rapids. Because of its proximity to several restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, Lyon Square receives an abundance of foot traffic from both tourists and locals. While Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI) has long used the plaza for events and public gatherings, the organization recently partnered with LiveSpace to transform one of its most memorable attractions into a permanent installation.
VIDEO SCOPE
The “canvas” in which the content is projected onto is the Civic Auditorium. The projection stretches across the entire width of the building, including the pillars. In order to match the complex shape of the building, LiveSpace turned to one of their most trusted brands: Disguise.
With the help of Disguise software, the LiveSpace team was able to blend two Titan WU 47000 projectors, totaling a resolution of 3820x1200px. This translates to a massive image measuring 50’ tall and around 180’ wide, totaling almost 9,000 sq ft. of projection mapping.
Both Titan projectors sit 12 feet above the ground, in thermally controlled projector enclosures. These two enclosures are part of Screen Solutions International's Defender Series, allowing the projectors to operate reliably in extreme weather conditions. This is especially important in Grand Rapids, where temperatures can range from scorching summer heat to bitter subzero winters.
Centered on the Civic Auditorium entrance to DeVos Place, the project builds on a temporary projection mapping installation LiveSpace created back in 2022. This time, however, the goal was to make projection mapping a lasting feature of Lyon Square.
***Kim quote here about how awesomely amazing and fantastically helpful LiveSpace is!
To accomplish this, LiveSpace designed and installed a permanent projection and audio system, transforming concrete into a canvas that can support public art and community events year-round.
Talk about speakers here…
The projection mapping finally debuted on January 9, 2026 when World of Winter began. This annual 8-week festival includes art installations, live music and DJ performances, and now a projection mapping show. The first content to be displayed with the new system was Seasonal Wonders. This was a 15 minute video designed by DropDrop, a Grand-Rapids based production and animation group. While DropDrop did all the animating, the music was written and recorded by LiveSpace’s own Andy Ferris (Project Developer & Integration Support).
Andy quote
Wrap up now!
All the drone photos above were taken by Shafi Subhan.
All the photos of Seasonal Wonders are from DGRI.