Winter City Design Competition

Calgary Winter City Design Competition

Have a Winter Dream for Calgary’s Downtown? We’d love to hear it.

Innovative winter design is needed for great public spaces to thrive in the colder months of the year. Winnipeg has its warming huts, Germany has its Christmas Markets. What interventions and activations could fit like a glove in Calgary’s climate and culture?

Calgary’s Winter City Design Competition will explore this question. The City invites designers, artists and students each fall to imagine the possibilities for winter city design in our downtown. We want people to explore and push beyond the boundaries of what public spaces in Calgary can be during the winter season.

Winning submissions will receive funding to build and install their designs. 

Thank you to the 2022-2023 winning teams Illumine and Chinook-ery, for dreaming up activations that encouraged social connections in the downtown during the winter months. A special shout-out to the People’s Choice Award Winner, Chinnok’ery!

2024 Competition

This year we are partnering with Chinook Blast for intake and management of the call for submissions.  Submissions are open from October 6 to November 3, 2023.  Two installations will be funded through The City. 

  1. $40,000 installation to be installed January to March, requiring no security
  2. $15,000 installation for February

For more details and to apply: Chinook Blast 2024 Art Installation Submission Form - in partnership with The City of Calgary's Winter City Design Challenge (google.com)

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

Selection of past submissions

YY-Seek

View the submission

Project team:

  • Adam Schwartz
  • Colin Lees

Snow Hall

View the submission

Project team:

  • Janine Loo

Inversion

(credit to ephemera)

View the submission

Project team:

  • Daisy Blue Groff

Wings to Fly

View the submission

Project team:

  • Raianne Lopes Machado

The Hive

View the submission

Project team:

  • Alisha Gorda
  • Rick Gendron
  • Zoe Crandall
  • Harrison Luethe
  • Harold Hivingelby
  • Jennifer Koppe
  • Doug Prusky

Past winners

If you want to see our past winners of the contest, then view our archive.

See the past winner and submissions

This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

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