Montreal, Quebec
Urban
International Competition
Located between Old Montreal and Downtown Montreal, Place des Montréalaises is part of a network of squares built over the Ville-Marie Expressway. This unique condition positions the site as an opportune space for negotiating a pivot between the old and new cities. The highway covering Viger Avenue and Saint-Antoine Street creates three distinct parallel spaces, each with its own landscape design—the Gardens, the Square, and the Hill—connected by an axis linking the metro station to the old city. The Gardens provide neighbourhood scale public spaces, featuring large lawns for reading, picnicking, and family activities. The Square features two pavilions, or "climatic machines" for winter and summer, creating spatial polarity between seasons. The Hill blends into the Champ-de-Mars embankment, resembling Québec's forests and the emblematic figure of Mount Royal, with sloped and planted walls to mitigate car noise from the highway exit below. Finally, the “Axe Traversant” includes a gentle slope and a pure arch footbridge, which creates a direct and accessible connection to the historic center.
In collaboration with Bureau Bas Smets, NEUF architect(e)s, WAA, Alicja Kwade
Images by Bureau Bas Smets and Pelletier de Fontenay
Urban
International Competition
Located between Old Montreal and Downtown Montreal, Place des Montréalaises is part of a network of squares built over the Ville-Marie Expressway. This unique condition positions the site as an opportune space for negotiating a pivot between the old and new cities. The highway covering Viger Avenue and Saint-Antoine Street creates three distinct parallel spaces, each with its own landscape design—the Gardens, the Square, and the Hill—connected by an axis linking the metro station to the old city. The Gardens provide neighbourhood scale public spaces, featuring large lawns for reading, picnicking, and family activities. The Square features two pavilions, or "climatic machines" for winter and summer, creating spatial polarity between seasons. The Hill blends into the Champ-de-Mars embankment, resembling Québec's forests and the emblematic figure of Mount Royal, with sloped and planted walls to mitigate car noise from the highway exit below. Finally, the “Axe Traversant” includes a gentle slope and a pure arch footbridge, which creates a direct and accessible connection to the historic center.
In collaboration with Bureau Bas Smets, NEUF architect(e)s, WAA, Alicja Kwade
Images by Bureau Bas Smets and Pelletier de Fontenay