McGill College Avenue, Montreal

The competition, launched by the Ville de Montréal, was an international multidisciplinary urban design competition focusing on the entirety of Place de l’Avenue McGill College. This involved pedestrianizing Avenue McGill College over its entire length, from Rue Cathcart to Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, with the aim to select a spatial design concept that meets and surpasses the city’s expectations. It invites biodiversity along the new blue-green park we proposed, is inspired by the Saint Lawrence River and brings people together in a new system of active squares inspired by the Monteregian hills.

The Park is a metaphor for the river valley, with natural features that perform ecological functions as part of a more comprehensive system of blue-green infrastructure. Similar to the landscapes of Quebec and the particular topography of the Montérégiennes, of which Mount Royal is a part, the public squares are the focus of daily interactions inspired by the mountains.

The users are stimulated harmoniously as they walk along the re-visited axis of the avenue coloured by wild apple trees. The trees, much loved by Montrealers, bring a seasonal rhythm and a human scale to the revival of McGill College Avenue.