WINNER OF A 2016 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
A series of modular catenary arches is deployed as temporary protection zones during the renovation of Montreal?s St. Catherine Street.
Several blocks of St. Catherine Street, a main commercial artery in downtown Montreal, are undergoing a four-year infrastructure improvement plan. During this renewal, segments of the street will be closed to vehicular traffic, but businesses will remain open.
While the sidewalks are being renovated, the archways transform the street into a pedestrian-only promenade and event space.
Imago won a City of Montreal competition as a creative means of minimizing the construction process?s negative impacts. The competition sought design solutions for an ?innovative urban experience? that would direct the flow of people, reduce construction-related disruptions, and disseminate information about the work and its progress. The arches are hinged at the top for width adjustment to suit different phases of construction.
An imago is the adult stage of a winged insect. This project features modular, inflatable catenary arches with latticed intermediary members that, like a butterfly?s wing, combine lightness, strength and flexibility.
Some of the openings are filled with images from the city?s urban history.
Hinged at the top and anchored to concrete construction fence sections at the bottom, the connectable arch components are width-adjustable. Widened, they enclose construction work on the central...