Kp9

Kp9

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Solar flares and other sun activities produce high-velocity solar winds – streams of charged particles – that disturb Earth’s magnetic field. This celestial battle of particle interaction causes the phenomena known as Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights in the northern hemisphere and Aurora Australis or Southern Lights in the southern. Ranging from Kp0 to Kp9, the Kp index charts the intensity of solar wind perturbations on Earth’s magnetic field.

During Winnipeg’s crisp and cold long winter nights, this index often reaches levels of Kp7 or more. The higher the index number, the stronger the fluorescence, and the more colourful the light display. Green light is most common, with red and purple emissions occurring as Kp levels climb.

With its swooping arcs and chromatically shifting fins, our Kp9 warming hut pays homage to the swirling, colourful displays of the Northern Lights at their most vivid. Skaters gliding past and around the hut will experience it as an entity that appears to change shape and colour, mirroring the nighttime lights overhead.

Credits

Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited Kevin Weiss – Principal, Andrew Ard