The history of the territorialization of the island of Montreal is one of progression from the river to the mountain and of the influence of different cultures and peoples. Native presence, French colonization, English conquest, massive immigration from many countries, have brought a multitude of cultural references making Montreal so rich and unique to discover. Thus, Montreal is in a way an assembly of these multiple influences, materializing in a series of tangible and intangible witnesses, a Montreal imaginary, notably recognizable in the architecture, the public places, the practices of the public space and the various environments, natural or not, of the metropolis. These define its experience and state its common values: an open, inclusive city whose cultural diversity contributes to its influence. It is in this complex reality that the project proposes to sample, in the heart of what constitutes the Montreal of today: its environments, its way of life, its markers and its referents, to imagine a significant place in homage to its values. This conceptual sampling operation, assembling multiple realities, remains allegorical. The project does not seek to literally represent these environments, markers and spaces of Montreal, but rather their spirit and atmosphere, by proposing a unique experience built through the experience of each. As a city of culture and creativity, Montreal must shine not only through the quality of its facilities, but also through their raison d'être, their fundamental principles, in order to transcend the senses and embody its profound spirit. The city is itself a living and evolving whole, a modular system that benefits from the complementarity of each and every one. In the image of this Montreal diversity, L'échantillon Montréal combines logic and poetics to create a place charged with meaning, testifying to this deeply Montreal hybrid character.
The Sample
In order to further anchor the concept of sampling in the Montreal context, it was further developed so that it would transcend the scales of intervention and become operative in all aspects of the project, both general and specific. Thus, the specificity sought, particularly in the progression of the sections towards Mount Royal, is part of a coherent conceptual framework, ensuring the continuity of the concept throughout the various stages of the project and reinforcing the overall unity through its total presence and its reading as a unified whole. While the Allegories (architectural follies) sample intangible markers of the Montreal imagination, the Plateaux, samples of environments, are organized according to a typological frame of reference, the sample of public spaces, materialized by the Tronçons, thus creating a dynamic sequence on the scale of the reinvented McGill Avenue.
The Plateaux
The Plateaux are a sampling of Montreal's environments and are assembled in a grand and monumental composition that gives the new McGill Square a distinctive and unified character in the downtown landscape. The proposed environments and the seasonal nature of their design ensure an infinite number of possibilities for assembly, offering a constantly renewed and evolving experience, as well as allowing for the adaptability and resilience of the system. As the basic units of the project, hundreds of trays make up the landscape of the new McGill Square and offer as many possibilities of appropriation. Suitable for gatherings in small groups or for a more intimate occupation of the space, they give an almost domestic dimension to the public space, inviting appropriation and facilitating the cohabitation of diverse populations. Inspired by Montreal's biodiversity, each planted area is declined according to a plant palette that reflects the distinctive features of its environment. The interstices, a secondary component of the system, are deployed through the circle grid and participate in the management of runoff water. While the overall pattern can be admired from the many adjacent buildings on high ground, the pedestrian experience is another, corresponding to the nature of the required amenities.
The Plain
Inspired by the large grassy areas that characterize Montreal's large urban parks and the McGill University campus, these plateaus invite you to take a break, have an impromptu picnic or sunbathe at lunch time. In winter, they become a mound to climb and slide on!
The Wasteland
Synonymous with discovery and informal wandering, La Friche offers a unique experience in the midst of indigenous and unstructured vegetation. Characterized by diagonal passages offering an alternative route, they link the Allegories and the Exhibition Plateaux in a discovery path highlighted.
The Forest
Dominated by large majestic trees, the Forest is distinguished by the presence of a variety of plant strata and a high density of vegetation. Large blocks of St. Mark's stone surround it and provide informal seating, which also limits access to the planting area.
The Wetland
An essential component of biodiversity, the Wetland contributes to the resilience of the development through its function as a bio-retention and rain garden. A series of concentric basins unfold to recreate the path of water runoff through layers of filtering vegetation, rough and tolerant to wet and dry soils.
The Orchard
Grouping the existing crabapple trees into a protected ensemble, the Orchard is laid out in regular grids, evoking the strict organization of this type of planting. At their base, each crabapple tree is rooted in an edible plantation dial surrounded by a bench-scale. Hidden lighting in the plantation ensures the enhancement of the majestic branching of this Montreal emblem throughout the seasons.
The Street
These mineral platforms offer a clear and unobstructed path that can accommodate a large flow of traffic. Their concentric layout is composed of small cobblestones, reminiscent of those that make up the streets of Old Montreal, familiar symbols of a pedestrian and accessible street experience.
The Stage
A place to pause, to meet and to improvise, the stage refers to the imagination of the performing arts, borrowing the formal language of the typical Montreal benches composed of curved wooden laths and a robust cast iron structure.
The Fountain
A playful plateau animated by water jets for the pleasure of the youngest. A real island of coolness during the summer heat. The lighting of the water jets is activated at nightfall to offer a choreography of light and sound.
The Expo
A real exhibition device, the exhibition unfolds along the discovery path, participating in its activation by passers-by. These trays highlight the future artworks integrated into the new layout as well as potential archaeological remains.
The Allegories
Real drillings in the collective imagination of Montreal, the Allegories emerge from the ground to evoke the intangible markers of Montreal, from the River to the Mountain. Wired and structural in nature, these architectural follies are in turn elusive, appearing and fading in the downtown landscape to finally merge with the land and nature at the foot of Mount Royal. Referring to the architectural follies that have marked Montreal, including Buckminster Fuller's Biosphere, they enter into a formal relationship with other emergences such as Mount Royal, the roofs of McGill University and even the skyscrapers that surround them. These allegorical structures re-establish, by their positions, the axiality with the Roddick portal (off-center since the widening of the avenue in 1989) and testify to the height of its clock tower, in the same way that the summit of Mount Royal is projected downtown by an imaginary line limiting the height of its buildings. They become allegorical by what they evoke and represent, by their formal expression [closing/unfolding and angulation/reversal], by the materiality of their skin, by their staging and the profoundly Montreal relationship that the walker undertakes with them. Thus, from a simple and geometrically variable system (see description of materials), each of the 5 allegorical figures will have its own formal and material expression according to its unique and significant personality. Witnessing the states of Montreal, the Allegories establish a narrative throughout the new McGill Square and become destinations in themselves.
Thus, from a simple and geometrically variable system (see description of materials), each of the 5 allegorical figures will have its own formal and material expression according to its unique and significant personality. Witnessing the states of Montreal, the Allegories establish a narrative throughout the new McGill Square and become destinations in themselves.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Stage 1
General appreciation
The Sampling Montreal proposal is based on the concept of sampling associated, in this case, with the representation of fragments of Montreal's identity inserted into the public space through the repetition of a geometric motif, a circle twelve meters in diameter. This basic proposal seduced the jury on the one hand by the effect of spatial continuity offered by the play of repetition and on the other hand by the reactive character of the pellets. Depending on the variations in the programming of each of the circles, the jury sees the capacity of the space to evolve with the seasons and to create distinct animation paths.
The jury feels that this proposal poses some conceptual risk and thus articulates some concerns for the development of the design concept:
- Despite its interest as a spatial composition strategy, the meaning and territorial anchoring of the geometric form of the circle and towers are difficult to identify
- The repetition of the geometric pattern should be considered in relation to the perspective effect created by the slope.
The jury also anticipates the challenges of implementation generated by the conceptual choices.
Conceptual and environmental quality of the plant strategy
In general, the plant strategy should be developed in order to enrich the proposal in terms of both density and biodiversity. The crabapple trees are reused for some of the pellets. The jury emphasizes that particular attention should be paid to their planting context. When planted near mineralized and heavily occupied spaces (terraces), crabapple trees generate significant maintenance needs.
Landscape and heritage quality The distribution of the plots makes it possible to clear the old route of McGill College Avenue and to preserve the views towards Mount Royal. Nevertheless, the jury questions the formal language used for the towers as well as the repetition of a single, very large object. While appreciating the idea of folly, the jury considers that the repetition as well as the strong visual predominance and formal resolution of the towers promote the perception of a space that is not well anchored to the site. The jury also suggests that the finalist team revise and Frenchify the title of the proposal.
Functional Quality - Usage
The quality of animation is one of the strengths of this development concept. The intimate dimension of the experiences offered despite the large scale of the spatial framework is interesting. The seven categories of floors provide a diversified discovery and experience according to the seasons. The jury emphasizes that there should be a better contextual study for the location of the plazas to ensure that the experiences of the plaza are appropriate to the urban context. It encourages the team to explore other vocations for its spaces.
Functional Quality - Mobility
The program requirements related to mobility seem to be met by this proposal. Nevertheless, the jury would like to better understand the possibilities of walking between the plazas and also sees design issues at the intersections.
Stage 2
Conceptual and environmental quality of the plant strategy
In the first stage of the competition, the jury sensed that the concept of sampling through the installation of pellets with varied themes had great potential for development in order to modulate the different uses, but also to deploy the plant strategy according to fragments of the Montreal environment. Unfortunately, the jury notes that the layout in circular platters of uniform size generates scales that are sometimes poorly adapted to the various types of planting and uses. The vegetation cover was also deemed insufficient with respect to the objectives of greening the avenue and fighting against heat islands.
Landscape and Heritage Quality
The distribution of the plantings in the circular plateaus preserves the views towards Mount Royal and clears the historical layout of McGill College Avenue. However, the jury questions the rigidity of the formal repetition of the circle, particularly because of the possibility of freezing the project in a particular moment. Although the project has evolved since Stage 1 of the competition, it is not sufficiently anchored in its context.
Functional quality - Use
In terms of use, the proposal is interesting compared to some of the more intimate experiences offered in the different circular platforms. More generally, however, the jury is not convinced of the comfort and well-being of users in the square.
Functional quality - Mobility
The spatial composition generated by the presence of the circular platforms raises issues of legibility of the north-south routes which have not been resolved at this second stage of the competition. The jury also notes that the clearance between the paddles for transverse walkways is insufficient given the traffic on the site.
Material quality, durability and maintenance of materials, furniture and equipment
The jury has reservations about the water management strategy. There are different materials, custom furnishings, and technical and technological systems in the project, which can complicate both the implementation and maintenance of the plaza.
Consideration of phasing issues, innovation risk management and feasibility
Without being a project that presents unsolvable issues in terms of risk and feasibility, the members of the jury nonetheless raise the numerous technical challenges of realization and sustainability related to maintenance that result from the team's formal choices and the integration of the five allegories. The jury also notes that the allegories (because of their evolution) are perceived more as artistic installations than as integrated landscape interventions, which raises questions about the competition program and the installations of future artworks planned for the square.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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