A 12-storey building in Edmonton has been awarded a Guinness World Record for featuring the world’s largest solar panel artwork, a project made possible by Toronto-based Mitrex Integrated Solar Technology.

Local artist Lance Cardinal used hundreds of coloured solar panels manufactured by Mitrex to fashion an 85-foot mural, utilizing a narrow side of The SunRise mixed-use building. The panels were arranged to depict a forest brimming with animals in a blend of Indigenous Canadian and Chinese cultures.

A bear, bison, wolf, turtle, beaver and a bald eagle perched near its nest are shown on the left side, with Bigfoot at the bottom making its iconic stride. On the right, all 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are shown.

The mural is part of a retrofit that added over 2,000 panels on all sides of the building across a palette of black, red, blue, yellow, orange and green. The project can generate over 265 kilowatts of renewable energy, enough to power a significant portion of The SunRise’s operations and offset 150 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Mitrex designs and manufactures building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), solar panels that function as building materials like walls and windows.

The record-setting project can “expand our outreach and spread the word that BIPV is here, it’s real and it’s going to change the way we build,” Danial Hadizadeh, CEO of Mitrex, told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview.

Guinness-recognized mural

Avenue Living Asset Management, owner of The SunRise, planned a sustainability focused retrofit of the building. Mitrex was chosen for its solar panels that generate clean electricity and lower operational costs while being integrated on the cladding.

The mural's artist is a member of the Treaty 8 Bigstone Cree Nation. Cardinal has a background as a painter, sculptor, theme park designer, choreographer, singer and photographer. His artwork is often inspired by his Indigenous heritage, such as paintings of Indigenous stories.

Installation of the solar panels started in the summer of 2024. The project took approximately three months, Hadizadeh said, with the mural taking under three weeks to complete.

Avenue made the first step to catch Guinness’s attention, applying for the award. After an extensive months-long period where Guinness ensured every panel functioned and reviewed documents sent by Mitrex to audit the project, it was awarded by the record-keeping organization.

The award shows that solar panels can come in more colours than black and in larger sizes than expected, Hadizadeh said. To him, it is also proof that solar panels can serve as a creative medium.

The facade around The SunRise features yellow and light blue solar panels, typically a hindrance to the overall performance. This is because generally the darker the panel, the more efficiently it runs, Hadizadeh explained. For Mitrex's eFacade PRO, which was used for the retrofit, the electricity generation ranges from five watts per square foot with the lightest colour to 18 watts per square foot with the darkest. 

But compared to the alternative with no BIPV on the building, he said it represents a sustainability win, even if the efficiency may not be ideal because of the decision to incorporate a colourful display.

'Bringing sustainability to all buildings'

It is not the first mural the company has supplied. In Jackson, Wyo., Mitrex’s panels were utilized on the roof of a small building, portraying local flora, a bear and an eagle in flight. It can provide approximately 2,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Another mural project in Alberta will be supported by Mitrex, Hadizadeh said.

The murals send a message to the market that “we have design flexibility,” he said. “Obviously, the goal for Mitrex is not just to produce murals. Our goal is to bring sustainability to all buildings.”

He hopes the Guinness recognition will make the real estate sector more aware of what BIPVs can offer the industry.