Glacier Skywalk

That time an avalanche cancelled the book launch.

Always in awe of the contributions that Sturgess Architecture has made to my hometown, I was eager to work with Jeremy and Clea to tell the inside-story of this award-winning attraction.

The manuscript arrived as a mixed bag of archival work, sketches, three-dimensional renderings, essays, engineering facts, and photos of the project both in construction and in finished form. Working closely with the authors and editor extraordinare Lucy Kenward, we rearranged and shaped the contents to reflect the journey of a Skywalk visitor, as they travel from the Brewster bus kiosk through four other choreographed checkpoints until reaching the suspended glass bridge and amphitheatre (where you take a deep breath and wait for your legs to stop shaking).

I spontaneously storyboarded the 128-page extent during an early client meeting, using a red Sharpie on some scrap cardboard, during which time I embarrassingly referred to “the book’s climax” several times.

The book opens with a poem by Derek Besant, which I stretched over three full-page greyscale archival photos, offering readers a slow intro to the Sunwapta Canyon region. 

The jacket has a sexy border spot gloss which can only be experienced IRL. 

Client: Figure 1
Authors:  Jeremy Sturgess, Clea Sturgess, Trevor Boddy 
Photography: Robert Lemermeyer
Publication Date: Spring 2017