SAIT Parkade

The Ombrae Sky

In collaboration with Revery Architecture (formerly Bing Thom Architects), Ombrae Studios developed the first large-scale Ombrae installation on several exposed elevations of the SAIT Parking Garage. A truly unique project, the structure’s design is cut into the site’s topography, reducing the visual impact of the parking garage as a whole, even including an integrated soccer field as a green roof. The application of the Ombrae cladding afforded maximum natural ventilation into the interior parking space, while eliminating unwanted views inside.

Featuring commissioned original art by Roderick Quin, The Ombrae Sky is a composite of hundreds of photos. As a collective mural, the piece depicts dynamic moving clouds by day, into dusk reflections of Alberta’s famous prairie sunset at night. The structure would go on to be awarded the Mayor’s Urban Design Award 2011 for “excellence in urban design and achievement in enhancing the quality of life in Calgary.”

Client: Revery Architecture
Size: 20,000 sqft (1,900sqm)
Completion Date: 2009