One year after presenting the Dialogues de Griffintown urban design workshop, Design Montréal hosted a second urban planning vision exercise, from October 20 to 27, 2007, this time commissioning a range of ideas for the renewal of one of Old Montréal’s most emblematic public spaces, Place d’Armes.
During the seven-day workshop, three international teams of urban designers, guided by a panel of guest experts, mapped out proposals for redeveloping this public square. The interdisciplinary teams were made up of designers from Montréal, Berlin and Buenos Aires, three "Cities of Design" in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network.
The event also featured a variety of free activities that allowed these design community professionals to engage in discussions and exchanges with the general public on the Place d'Armes redevelopment plan. These included luncheon meetings with the designers at MONOPOLI, galerie d’architecture, along with guided tours of Place d’Armes and Old Montréal. Members of the public were also invited to respond to questions posted on the website www.imagineyourplacedarmes.ca. Meanwhile, the Stake Your Claim! evening, in Pecha KuchaTM format, brought together urban planning and design students from Université de Montréal, Concordia University, McGill University and Université du Québec à Montréal, who shared their viewpoints on Place d’Armes’ redevelopment. At the close of the intensive week-long workshop, the three design teams unveiled their proposals at the Palais des congrès de Montréal before an enthusiastic audience of some 350 people. Lastly, an exhibit showcasing the results of the workshop was held at MONOPOLI, galerie d’architecture, from October 28 to December 16.
The proposals and debates that emerged from the UNESCO Urban Design Workshop Imaginer la place d’Armes (Imagining Place d’Armes) have served to enrich the final Place d’Armes redevelopment plan, generated interest from the local community and public confidence, and contributed to the recognition and reputation of Montréal as a UNESCO City of Design.
Partners
This event, organized by the Design Montréal office in partnership with the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine and the UNESCO Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design at Université de Montréal (which provided scientific coordination), benefited from the involvement of several municipal consulting resources (heritage, parks and green spaces) and financial support from the 2005–2008 Montréal Cultural Development Agreement as well as the Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions, under its Fonds de développement de la Métropole.
