For Chinook Blast, 2024

*Winner of the 2024 Calgary Winter City Design Competition*

Presented as a wooden canopy providing warmth (in material and structure) within the park-like landscape of Olympic Plaza sits the art installation (p)arc. This wooden canopy is inspired by arching snow drifts and serves the dual function of providing refuge from the elements, while also creating visual interest and interactivity with its unique architectural cladding strategy.

Ideally experienced at pace (walking or rolling through), the appearance of the cladding will vary throughout daylight conditions. The PET-G cladding can be tinted to provide a pop of colour in the wintery landscape, or simply translucent, creating the effect of a frosty snow sculpture. Lighting inside will bring the installation to life and make it glow at night. Visually complex and interesting, the construction strategy is made simple, focused on the mass fabrication of wood laminates cut from dimensional lumber. The project can then be built in place like a standard tried and tested gridshell structure, and ultimately disassembled with ease.

We need to ensure design has no negative impact to the environment. We used sustainably harvested timber and recycled PETG for the cladding, and the gridshell design can be compacted like an accordion and stored for future use so it is truly zero waste. When cutting wood and PETG, we use specialty computer programs that optimize the material used and minimize off-cuts.