Dome

New beach entrance gate and service building (made from shipping containers); Part of the redevelopment of Montreal’s Old Port. A stroll along the quay opens a panorama to the visitor: the St. Lawrence River and Jacques Cartier Bridge towering over Île Sainte-Hélène. The project created an (artificial) urban beach at the Pointe de l’Horloge, with its elegant clock tower built in 1921, and along the lower quay bordering the marina. A huge stairway-ramp makes the venue accessible to all. Beach umbrellas and weeping willows, brightly colored chairs and fixtures, showers and mist stations (swimming is not allowed), a boardwalk, silky sand, and a refreshment stand were added. The second part of the project added a parking area, clearly defined by rows of trees that reproduces the triangular layout of the quay. At the far west end of the site is a “porcupine” installation, shooting up from a mound around which a roundabout loops. It is composed of hundreds of sticks in three shades of blue which generate an intriguing pixilation effect. Source: Claude Cormier + Associes [website]; www.claudecormier.com/en/ (accessed 5/9/2014)