Undulating Ribbon Weaves Inside & Out
The stunning Art Gallery of Alberta was designed by architect Randall Stout of Randall Stout Architects, Los Angeles. The design reinvents the museum’s public spaces through a continuous stainless steel surface that moves lithely through the museum’s interior and exterior spaces,” courtesy Randall Stout Architects’ website. Known by many as the “Aurora Borealis” it is that dramatic architectural feature that uses Contrarian Micro Textures’ non directional, low gloss, uniformly textured InvariMatte® stainless steel finish.
“The stainless steel has a finish that reflects color and light in a highly diffused manner. Whereas a smooth or polished stainless steel would shed unwanted visual glare and heat reflections, the finish on the borealis creates visual highlights without glare. The larger borealis surfaces reflect colors through gentle transitions that exist at the reciprocating angle of the line of sight. That is to say it behaves like a mirror, but with very “fuzzy” reflections. At some angles of view, one can see soft blues in the metal of a blue sky overhead. In the early morning and when viewed from the east some surfaces reflect back the warm, yellow morning light. During the evening the same effect can be seen from the west with the more orange and reddish tones of sunset softly appearing in the metal. At night time, the exterior stainless steel predominantly reflects the dark night sky allowing the white interior surfaces of the borealis to become dynamic, welcoming illumination of architectural elements,” explained Randall Stout.
The undulating ribbon was fabricated by A. Zahner, Kansas City, MO. Zahner’s Hunter Pre-weathered Zinc which resembles slate or limestone was used throughout the interior and exterior of the building on flat and geometric surfaces. Flynn of Canada handled the installation.
The public is guided to entry points for the galleries, gathering spaces and event areas by the stainless steel ribbon as it shows visitors the way to their area of interest. The galleries are more traditional in shape which offers maximum flexibility for exhibitions, programs and shows.
In January Contrarian Micro Textures was honored with Metal Construction Association’s President Award for Overall Excellence for the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton. “We are honored to have our InvariMatte® stainless steel featured on this outstanding project. Randall Stout’s creativity combined with expert fabrication and engineering on the part of A. Zahner Company add significance to our participation,” Halliday explained when accepting the award. “While our participation on the project should be recognition enough, we are humbled that the MCA has honored us with the President’s Award for Overall Excellence,” he added.
The addition added 87,000 sq. ft. to the museum, 30,000 of which is new exhibition space. Its original design was a 1960’s concrete structure. Access to Edmonton’s underground light rail system and public walk-way via the main lobby add to the amenities. The Art Gallery opened in 2009.