The Ville de Montréal has unveiled the results of the Le taxi prend ses aires! ideas competition, for improving the signage and layout of Montréal’s taxi stands. Designers in all disciplines were invited to nurture reflection on the design challenge posed by the current taxi stands’ many shortcomings, and propose innovative solutions for an enhanced experience of these public spaces shared by taxi customers and drivers.
Since Le taxi prend ses aires! is an ideas competition, its purpose is not to select and implement one of the submissions received; it is part of a creative process.
Vote for your favourite design!
Members of the public and taxi drivers are invited to take part in that process by voting online for their favourite taxi stand design among the five winning submissions chosen by the jury, and at the same time enter for a chance to win one of two romantic getaway packages at the Place d’Armes Hôtel & Suites in Old Montréal, worth $500, or one of four Nature Museums family passes worth $81. The vote will be open until Monday August 30, at midnight. The “Choix du public” (people’s choice) and the “Coup de cœur” (favourite design among the taxi industry) will be announced in September 2010.
The five ex-æquo winning submissions, which were each awarded a $7,000 prize, are:
The designers or design teams awarded the “Prix du jury” and “Choix du public” will each receive an additional award of $2,500.
The jury’s selection
In all, 42 eligible entries were evaluated by the jury, which was made up of:
- Jean-Guy Chabauty, Industrial Designer, Moderno;
- Michel Dufresne, Urban Planner, Groupe Cardinal-Hardy;
- Carl Gagnon, Creative Director and President, Imago;
- Lucy Mungiovi, Director of Convention Services, Tourisme Montréal;
- Isabelle D'Astous, Co-creative Director, Sid Lee;
- Yung Cuong, President, Taxi Para-Adapté;
- Patrick Messier, industrial designer, Messier Designers Inc.
The jury members noted the broad diversity of proposals received, ranging from concepts involving mostly signage to innovative, much more elaborate ideas. That diversity was seen in terms of scale and scope, the functions and attributes proposed, and the themes employed to convey the ideas. “From comprehensive site layouts to simple objects, from integration to strong statements, the participants’ entries lead us to reflect on the identity and even the very definition of these spaces for waiting and transition within the city,” said jury president Patrick Messier.
About this ideas competition
The Le taxi prend ses aires! competition is one of the five shûkos, or creative challenges, issued by the mayor of Montréal during the Pecha Kucha Night for Elected Officials on September 30, 2008. It is directly in line with the ongoing commitments made by the Ville de Montréal and its partners in the Action Plan 2007–2017 – Montréal, Cultural Metropolis, the goals of which include the promotion of excellence in architecture and design. The city has launched several design competitions in recent months, including for the development of mobile street furniture for use by festivals and the design of a new bus shelter, as well as an ideas competition for redevelopment of the area surrounding the Champ-de-Mars métro station.
The ideas competition is an initiative of the Design Montréal office with the co-operation of the Bureau du taxi et du remorquage de la Ville de Montréal and support from the taxi industry.