Status: Finalist proposal
On August 14, 2019, the Design Office of the City of Montreal launched a multidisciplinary design competition for the design of a range of playful furniture for the Esplanade Tranquille.
The objective of the competition is the following (excerpt from the website) :
Creation of esplanade Clark (now called Esplanade Tranquille) constitutes the last phase of the Quartier des spectacles major project, the Place des Arts hub. Esplanade Tranquille, situated west of rue Clark, between Sainte-Catherine and De Montigny, will have a vocation complementary to those of the other public places in Quartier des spectacles; it is to be a more intimate space. This new public space will include an exterior refrigerated skating rink, which in the summer will become a grand urban terrace. The plaza will become a special place to host citizen and cultural activities as well as performances including, primarily, those of the major festivals and events of the summer period.
Inspired by the spirit of the backyard where people enjoy hanging out together and chatting, the space is to be intimate, friendly and human-scaled. It will truly be a space for life, encouraging strong citizen appropriation. It will welcome residents, workers, district regulars, tourists and will offer a particular opportunity for families and children.
The public space will include conventional furniture, for daily use of the plaza, in particular chairs and tables. That urban furniture is not included in this competition. As an adjunct to that furniture, through this competition the Ville de Montréal seeks to equip the space with playful, movable furniture adapted to a variety of types of users, including families. It is hoped that this furniture collection will help make the space lively, convivial and warm, and extend the length of time users stay in the space, during all seasons of the year. The playful furniture collection will act as a support for imagination; its configuration will evolve through the seasons and with respect to needs. This furniture will provide opportunities for playing, interaction, encounters, movement, strolling, rest, refreshment and similar experiences. This playful furniture is designed to provide experiences for the inner child, no matter the age. The furniture elements to be designed and developed in the Project include but are not limited to the following:
All furniture elements must be easy to move and transport in order to allow rearrangement of the spaces as a function of the seasons and festival events.
The proposed budget for the manufacture and installation of all furniture elements of the collection is six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) before taxes.
ELEMA is eventually approached by designer Laurent Monnier, who represents the Precious Plastic Montreal (PPM) collective, the local chapter of a global organization whose mission is to recycle, revalue and educate the general public in the reuse of plastic. As one of the four finalists, our mandate is to assist the PPM team in step # 2 of the competition for the design of the “fixed” portions of the “Petit Jardin de Montréal”, namely the reinvented fountain and carousel, to participate in presentations before the competition jury in addition to mobilizing our network of contacts in the realization of certain aspects of the project.
Our team’s proposal dealt with the following aspects:
1) The plastic blocks
– To play / explore – To assemble / collaborate – To photograph / share – Materials and durability – Block security, transport and storage
2) The reinvented carrousel
3) The reinvented fountain
4) The Workshop-container (optional)
