9th Avenue Parkade + Platform Innovation Centre

Location: Calgary,Canada
Design firm: 5468796 Architecture
Typology: Other
Years: 2018–2021
Status: Complete

Facade facts

Facade summary: A two-part facade featuring highly transparent glass curtain walls on the lower innovation hub levels, and an undulating screen of vertical anodized aluminum tubes wrapping the upper parkade levels.
Documented intention: The architects intended to challenge the typical monofunctional, hostile aesthetic of parking garages. The facade was designed to act as a light, sculptural veil that activates the streetscape and facilitates future conversion of the interior spaces without requiring a complete structural overhaul.
Street relationship: The transparent ground floor and public cut-through create a strong pedestrian connection, transforming a standard parking utility into an active public threshold.
Climate relationship: The high porosity of the upper screen permits natural cross-ventilation, mitigating the need for energy-intensive mechanical air extraction and heating in Calgary's cold continental climate.
Window pattern: Continuous bands of high-span glazing on the lower levels; open-air voids behind the metal screen on the upper levels.
Glazing: Double-glazed,low-E
Depth: Varying facade depth created by the spherical bends and curves of the vertical aluminum pipes.
Rhythm: Continuous,organic,and undulating vertical rhythm.
Anodized Aluminum: Anodized Aluminum — Levels 3-7 (Upper Levels) — Metallic anodized
Structural Glass: Structural Glass — Levels 1-2 (Lower Levels) — Clear
Exposed Concrete: Exposed Concrete — Throughout structural frame and slab edges — Smooth cast-in-place
Suspended Aluminum Pipe Screen: A custom-engineered system of vertically oriented, curved anodized aluminum pipes suspended on structural steel framing modules attached to the concrete floor slabs.
Stick-built Glass Curtain Wall: A transparent, double-height aluminum-framed curtain wall system enclosing the lower innovation centre levels.

Description

The building features a dual-envelope strategy. The lower two levels, housing the Platform Innovation Centre, are clad in highly transparent structural glass curtain walls, exposing the concrete column-and-slab framework and internal activity. The upper five levels are wrapped in a continuous, three-dimensional veil composed of thousands of curved, vertical, anodized aluminum pipes. These pipes are suspended on a modular steel structure attached to the concrete floor plates, undulating to create a wave-like pattern across the exterior. The open-air nature of the screen satisfies building codes for naturally ventilated parkades, eliminating the need for mechanical ventilation systems. The screen also acts as a continuous fall-protection guardrail and is designed for easy removal if the building is converted to other uses in the future.

Visual analysis

Visually, the undulating aluminum screen shifts in opacity depending on the perspective of the viewer, appearing highly solid from an angle but transparent when viewed head-on. At night, integrated LED lights illuminate the screen, turning the structure into a soft, glowing civic lantern.