Winter City Design Winners
2025 winners
Serenity Passage
Serenity Passage is a temporary art installation featuring over 200 blown glass rondels created in collaboration with glass artists from Calgary and surrounding areas. These rondels are arranged within an illuminated archway forming a 7-foot-tall, 5-foot-wide passage accessible to individuals of all mobility levels. Upon entering the Serenity Passage, visitors experience an immersive environment with a glowing glass dome overhead, encased in plexiglass. The design muffles city sounds offering a serene space for peace, joy or introspection and provides contemplation and refuge from the snow. You can experience the Passage in different conditions, with the city backdrop always visible, though the weather and people may change. Serenity Passage is an interactive installation. To learn more about the design process, please visit www.petrucciglass.com.
Dates: Jan. 15, 2025 – April 15, 2025
Location: Century Gardens, 826 8 Avenue SW
Project team:
- Leah Petrucci
- Alberta University of Arts Alumni and Students
- Calgary Glass Community
- F&D Scene Changes
Thank you to the private studios that supported this project: Fairbairn Glass, Fascapple Glass, Passion For Glass and Sparrow Glassworks.
A special thanks to: Phillip Bandura, Anna Bilek, Alana Biffert, Chloe Brodeur, Lisa Cerny, Carli Castle, Barry Fairbairn, Leia Guo, James Lavoie, Taylor Knauff, Heidi Mayer, Dana Mclean, Hayden MacRae, Caelan Nowicki, Korina Opekar Ruiz, Mandy Patchin, Darren Petersen, Kenzie Roth, Natali Rodrigues, Portia Scabar, India Verre, Jesi Yager for their time and skills creating the beautiful blown glass rondels.
Dot Spot
Dot Spot is a vibrant, interactive public art installation designed to playfully animate Calgary’s downtown during the winter. Dot Spot’s materiality and form draws inspiration from the bright blue flying saucer snow sled, an iconic winter object familiar to generations of Calgarians. With the ability to function both as a kiosk and a pavilion, Dot Spot is more than an art installation—it’s a piece of interactive infrastructure that adds color, movement, and fun to the winter landscape.
Dates: January 31, 2025 – April 15, 2025
Location: Bow River Pathway, near 6 Street SW
Project team:
- HEREBY
- Michael Zabinski
- Yves Poitras
- Matt Stewart
- Joshua Clarke
2024 winners
1000 Faces
Alejandro Figueroa, a prestigious artist winning such notable events as the VR contest at the Phi Center in 2016 and seizing the top spot at ArtWorkTO 2021, is the mastermind behind 1000 Faces. Described as a mesmerizing installation suspended on a 40' high arch, 1000 Faces draws its inspiration from nature's wonders. This magnificent sphere is composed of 1779 plexiglass tiles that move independently, mirroring nature's rhythm and creating a harmonious dance with the elements. Canadian artist +AMOR collaborates with Calgary-born artist Dillan (King Aurorus) to craft an original, captivating soundtrack that perfectly complements the installation. 1000 FACES showcases the transformative power of public art, intertwining contemporary creativity with the breathtaking beauty of nature and local cultural influences.
Dates: January 24 to April 15, 2024
Location: Eau Claire promenade near 6 Street SW
Project team:
- Alejandro Figueroa
- Dillan Schmitz
- Robert Tita
- Amélie Robitaille
Fancy Meeting You Here
Fancy Meeting You Here, designed by The Communication + Design Lab, has been imagined as a catalyst for engagement encouraging people to stop, connect, and linger during the winter months. The intent of the installation is to transform a dark and overlooked space in downtown Calgary with an interactive lighting design that provides a warm and responsive place for people to gather.
As you begin to interact with the installation, the real magic begins. In response to you joining or leaving, changing patterns of light wash over the adjacent walls and surrounding space creating a warm and engaging atmosphere. Inspired by the beauty of winter and the need for connection, the art-piece welcomes you into unintentional collaboration that enlivens an otherwise mundane space and transforms it into a whimsical place of serendipitous interactions. Take a moment, pause and maybe stay a while? Bring your friends, make new ones and discover how your presence impacts the space!
Dates: February 2 to February 19, 2024
Location: Historic Fire Hall # 1 Courtyard (140 - 6 Avenue SE)
Project team:
- Shaheed H. Karim
- Karim Manji
- Natasha Karim-Manji
(p)arc
(P)arc, designed by Jonathan Monfries and Madisen Killingsworth, provides a primarily visual, but also tactile and interactive experience based on the fact users traverse through the installation. The intent of (p)arc is to create a gateway experience that welcomes people to Olympic Plaza while also providing protection from the elements. This project also focuses on being sustainable by minimizing material that goes to landfill and supporting more inclusive artistic programming. This design team has also had exhibits appear in previous Chinook Blast events as well as the Works Art + Design Festival, Taste of Edmonton and the Edmonton Street Performer's Festival.
Dates: February 2 to February 19, 2024
Location: 228 8 Avenue SE
Project team:
- Jonathan Monfries
- Madisen Killingsworth
- Mauricio Soto-Rubio
2023 winners
Illumine
Three glowing frames, each containing movable and interactive elements, focused on public interactions and constant creation.
Location: Stephen Avenue and 1 Street SW
Project team:
- Paul Miller
- Miles Abesdris
Chinook-ery
Inspired by our landscape, Chinook-ery aims to enhance an outdoor space with modular wood structures mimicking the mountains and foothills inspired by our Western Canadian landscape.
Location: Barb Scott Park (12 Avenue SW and 9 Street SW)
Project team:
- Giovanni Carano
- Vince Ellis
- Kayla Royce
- Marcia Eng
- Jenn Comrie
- David Kowel
- Leighton Ginther
- Jon van Heyst
- Kim Crews
2022 winners
WOWIE
"WOWIE is an interactive experience focused on making winter feel warmer." - Seeton Naested, Design Lead, 12 years old
Public space is just that, public. The Team project approach sought to offer a young person the opportunity to lead a design intended for public installation. The goal of ‘WOWIE’ is to encourage wonder, exploration, and interaction in the public realm. The installation is comprised of three separate platforms that at first glance provide opportunities to sit, perch, and enjoy the atmosphere of the street. Look closely to solve the puzzle of ‘WOWIE’ by working together to illuminate Stephen Avenue.
Location: Stephen Avenue, between Centre St. and 1 St. SW
Project team:
- Seeton Naested (Project leader/Kid specialist)
- Julian Warring, Kelsi Hurlbut (The TULA Project)
- Kelsi Hurlbut (The TULA Project)
- Adam Ford (Unique Projects)
- John Lawlor (Optics Lighting & Controls)
- Matt Labrie (Christie Lites)
- Audrina Lim, Alison MacLachlan, John Rivera (MTa)
Infinito
To make Stephen Avenue a more welcoming place in winter, we as a team designed a tunnel that focuses on intimacy, connection, and social interactions. We wanted to create a harmonious environment, an area suitable for people of all ages to visit, play, and take pictures. The warm colour from the structure’s material and its dynamic lighting emit warmth in this cold winter, bringing unity and hope to Calgary’s outdoors.
Location: Stephen Avenue and 2 St. SW
Project team:
- Bosco Chik
- Charlie Jiang
- Christian Icuspit
- William Zhuang
- Karim Kandil