"Éclats de verre"
In the heart of Montreal, winter city, festive city, city of a hundred steeples; "Éclats de verre". A giant stained glass window, decomposed and organized in a labyrinth that shines on the snowy mineral space of Place Émilie-Gamelin.
This field of brilliant colors, visible from the street, invites the passerby to venture into a maze of polychrome glass panels to take part in this tableau of shadows in movement that the sun animates as the day goes on.
When evening comes, a series of headlights in the center of the path, in turn, illuminate the esplanade in a dynamic way by modulating this show of multicolored reflections. At the same time, video animations dress the facades of two buildings along the park.
Attracted by the glow of the headlights, the visitor reaches the heart of the installation, a raised terrace where the towers of Place Dupuis and the Hôtel des Gourverneurs are reproduced. These two cubes, placed on pivoting pedestals and equipped with sensors, have the power to modulate the lighting and the sound ambiance of the site in addition to transforming the projected video images. The visitor can thus modify the surrounding space by simply moving the cubes.
Underlining the architectural characteristics of the two buildings, the video animations allow the visitor to break the monolithic character of these buildings by reshaping their structure. Thus, following the example of Melvin Charney and his three skyscrapers, the visitor can have fun deconstructing the facades of these two buildings that surround the square.
From the central platform, the visitor enjoys a privileged view of the three sculptures dominating the park. For the occasion, the sculptures are illuminated from their respective pools and their silhouettes are projected, like monochrome stained glass, onto the screen of snow covering the grassy area.
Sowing "Éclats de verre" on Place Émilie-Gamelin to create an island of heat, an island of colors that offers visitors a unique immersive experience and passers-by a living chromatic panorama.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
The installation charmed the jury because it completely changed the spirit of the square with striking color effects at the user's scale. Like the other concepts, the project stands out for its strong daytime presence. This task of bright colors in the downtown area brings warmth in the gray of winter.
The installation modulates and evolves to the rhythm of the elements of nature. The sun, snow or freezing rain will bring another dimension to the installation. The concept of splintering and deconstruction is strong and echoes the work of Melvin Charney. The idea of deconstructing the facades of buildings through interactivity appealed to the jury, especially since the team has well integrated the constraints and technical limitations of architectural projection on these buildings.
The anchors and supports for the glass panels are simple, well resolved technically and have a lot of finesse in the details. For all these reasons, the jury designates the project as the winner.
Jury recommendations for the continuation of the project:
- The jury recommends that the team push the idea of deconstruction and fragmentation further. It questions the orthogonality of the installation and would like to see the glass labyrinth better anchored with the elements of the square and with the work of Melvin Charney.
- The jury recommends greater coherence in the overall concept and a better thread between the elegance of the glass panels and the playful cubes of the interactive concept.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
23 scanned / 23 viewable
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- Presentation Panel
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