Guinness World Records recently presented a newly renovated building in downtown Edmonton with the title for featuring the world’s largest solar panel mural.

Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal created the mural for the SunRise, a 12-storey, 179-unit building located on 106 Avenue and 101 Street.

Canadian company Mitrex manufactured the solar façade and worked on the project with Avenue Living, a leading owner-operator of multi-family real estate in North America. The team sustainably revitalized the SunRise and is now carrying out a comprehensive deep-energy retrofit to significantly reduce energy consumption.

It will generate power using more than 2,000 solar panels on the building’s exterior.

The solar panel mural spans 26 m (85 ft) high and is titled “The Land We Share.” It celebrates the neighbourhood’s cultural heritage and serves as a work of public art.

Honouring cultures

“I’m excited to bring First Nations and Chinese representation to this beautiful building,” said Cardinal. “To honour both cultures, we were inspired by the animals of the seven sacred grandfather teachings of the Cree tradition and the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. This mural depicts these creatures living together in unity — seeing each other and sharing the same space within one harmonious community.”

“For Avenue Living, The SunRise is more than a building,” says Max Graham, Chief Operating Officer at Avenue Living. “It is a statement of what’s possible when sustainability, innovation, and cultural respect come together.”

The refreshed building is already making an impact. Kathryn Luu, Director of the Chinatown Business Improvement Area and board member of the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative, says the revitalization is breathing new life into the community.

Graham told CTV News that it cost about $20-30 million to renovate and retrofit The SunRise. He said they stripped the building down to its concrete core before building new kitchens and bathrooms in each suite and adding amenities on the second floor.