Place de l'avenue McGill College: An iconic street

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Avenue McGill College, located in the heart of downtown, is among Montréal’s most prestigious streets. It connects McGill University to the north, to Place Ville Marie to the south, and tens of thousands of students, workers and tourists travel along it every day.

In 1984, this avenue was subject to one of the first public consultations aimed at modifying a development project. Avenue McGill College, as we know it today, with its stunning views of Mount Royal, was protected thanks to the actions of Montréal residents.


An innovative and participative design process

The area around Avenue McGill College is abuzz with excitement with the redesign of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, the arrival of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) downtown, and major private investments, notably in the revitalization of Place Ville-Marie and its esplanade and the renovation of the Eaton Centre.

In April 2018, the municipal administration announced its intention to reinvent this iconic avenue by bringing it into the 21st century and transforming it into a vast public space.

In order to achieve its vision, the municipal administration initiated a comprehensive planning and consultation process with its partners, taking into account the concerns and aspirations of residents, various local actors, as well as internal and external experts. The project planning process was carried out over a period of roughly 18 months. It included a public consultation led by the OCPM in the fall of 2018, along with various studies, a positioning exercise, and the use of an integrated design process.


The vision retained

The avenue will be transformed into an imposing public space spanning its entire length, from Rue Cathcart to Rue Sherbrooke O. The new design will transform the pedestrian experience in the heart of a naturalized landscape directly in the downtown core. In this newly transformed landscape where everyday life slows down, pedestrians will be invited to soak in the sights and experience Montréal in all its authenticity.

This vision is reflected in the following five development objectives:

  • Deploy abundant vegetation within an iconic landscape on Avenue McGill College.
  • Bring out the spirit of the place by taking into account the historical and heritage dimensions of Avenue McGill College and preserving its commanding view of Mount Royal.
  • Offer a relaxing and people-friendly atmosphere adapted to the contextual variations specific to Avenue McGill College and its various users.
  • Adapt the configuration of the avenue in a way that creates a safe public space where pedestrians are front and centre and where there is coherency in relation to spaces for vehicles and cyclists.
  • Develop an exemplary urban public space in terms of the quality of the materials used and the sustainability of the infrastructures.


An avenue reinvented

On October 31, 2019, an international multidisciplinary urban design competition was launched for Lot 1. The winning concept, by the civiliti + Mandaworks (Sweden) and SNC Lavalin team, in collaboration with Lasalle-NHC, UDO Design, Biodiversité Conseil, Lamontagne Consultants and ÉVOQ, was announced in October 2020. The winning team was mandated to create the detailed project design and to develop plans and specifications for the completion of Lot 1 (Cathcart to De Maisonneuve). Work operations are scheduled to start in 2025.

Please view the city’s Bureau du design Web site for complete details on the competition.


Development of the Place de l’avenue McGill College

  • Lot 1: from rue Cathcart to boulevard De Maisonneuve O.
  • Lot 2: from boulevard De Maisonneuve O. to rue Sherbrooke O.


Avenue McGill College, located in the heart of downtown, is among Montréal’s most prestigious streets. It connects McGill University to the north, to Place Ville Marie to the south, and tens of thousands of students, workers and tourists travel along it every day.

In 1984, this avenue was subject to one of the first public consultations aimed at modifying a development project. Avenue McGill College, as we know it today, with its stunning views of Mount Royal, was protected thanks to the actions of Montréal residents.


An innovative and participative design process

The area around Avenue McGill College is abuzz with excitement with the redesign of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, the arrival of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) downtown, and major private investments, notably in the revitalization of Place Ville-Marie and its esplanade and the renovation of the Eaton Centre.

In April 2018, the municipal administration announced its intention to reinvent this iconic avenue by bringing it into the 21st century and transforming it into a vast public space.

In order to achieve its vision, the municipal administration initiated a comprehensive planning and consultation process with its partners, taking into account the concerns and aspirations of residents, various local actors, as well as internal and external experts. The project planning process was carried out over a period of roughly 18 months. It included a public consultation led by the OCPM in the fall of 2018, along with various studies, a positioning exercise, and the use of an integrated design process.


The vision retained

The avenue will be transformed into an imposing public space spanning its entire length, from Rue Cathcart to Rue Sherbrooke O. The new design will transform the pedestrian experience in the heart of a naturalized landscape directly in the downtown core. In this newly transformed landscape where everyday life slows down, pedestrians will be invited to soak in the sights and experience Montréal in all its authenticity.

This vision is reflected in the following five development objectives:

  • Deploy abundant vegetation within an iconic landscape on Avenue McGill College.
  • Bring out the spirit of the place by taking into account the historical and heritage dimensions of Avenue McGill College and preserving its commanding view of Mount Royal.
  • Offer a relaxing and people-friendly atmosphere adapted to the contextual variations specific to Avenue McGill College and its various users.
  • Adapt the configuration of the avenue in a way that creates a safe public space where pedestrians are front and centre and where there is coherency in relation to spaces for vehicles and cyclists.
  • Develop an exemplary urban public space in terms of the quality of the materials used and the sustainability of the infrastructures.


An avenue reinvented

On October 31, 2019, an international multidisciplinary urban design competition was launched for Lot 1. The winning concept, by the civiliti + Mandaworks (Sweden) and SNC Lavalin team, in collaboration with Lasalle-NHC, UDO Design, Biodiversité Conseil, Lamontagne Consultants and ÉVOQ, was announced in October 2020. The winning team was mandated to create the detailed project design and to develop plans and specifications for the completion of Lot 1 (Cathcart to De Maisonneuve). Work operations are scheduled to start in 2025.

Please view the city’s Bureau du design Web site for complete details on the competition.


Development of the Place de l’avenue McGill College

  • Lot 1: from rue Cathcart to boulevard De Maisonneuve O.
  • Lot 2: from boulevard De Maisonneuve O. to rue Sherbrooke O.
  • Avenue McGill College plaza project timeline

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    The Avenue McGill College plaza development project is scheduled to begin once the work on the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is completed at this location. Based on the current REM schedule, the city will start work on the plaza in 2025.

  • Valérie Blass will create a work of art for the square on Avenue McGill College

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    It is a great source of pride for Montréal to announce that Valérie Blass, a renowned Montréal-born visual artist and sculptor has been selected to create a work of art to be displayed in Montréal’s downtown core. This public art project is part of the Avenue McGill College redevelopment project.

    Her work, temporarily titled “L’ami des ruines”, evokes the idea of creating anthropomorphic shapes reminiscent of both ruins and rock formations through which an opening can foster soil, mushrooms and plants. Exploring the idea that nature can pierce through urban centres, the artists seeks to implement artistic elements that are both timeless and malleable in time, as they are exposed to human and natural transformation.

    Her artistic approach will propose unique experiences for the public to enjoy, inviting passersby to explore and rediscover the redeveloped Avenue McGill College. As such, expanding the cultural offering is an integral part of the project for the revitalization of the downtown core.

    L'ami des ruines will be the artist’s first public art work for the city, as well as her first permanent installation resulting from a competition.

    Valérie Blass will be invited to realize her work in collaboration with the project consultants, with the city’s Service de l’urbanisme et de la mobilité (SUM) and the Bureau d’art public. Including an artist in the design team in order to develop a piece that can integrate the Avenue McGill College redevelopment project is an innovative idea for Montréal.

    Announcement of winning projects for January 2023 by the Bureau d’art public de Montréal

  • Place Oscar-Peterson: Coming soon to downtown

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    The memory and exceptional contribution of Montréal jazz musician and composer Oscar-Peterson will be honoured by naming a public square after him in the heart of downtown. Part of the Avenue McGill College redevelopment project, this square will pay tribute to this great Montréal ambassador and internationally renowned artist, who died in 2007.

    A square rich in experiences
    Located in the central area of Avenue McGill College, between Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest and Boulevard De Maisonneuve Ouest, Place Oscar-Peterson will host a figurative work of public art and installations that will offer sensory, contemplative and immersive experiences.

    Future artworks in Place Oscar-Peterson will be chosen by competitions. The first competition will be launched this fall for the immersive work, and another competition will be held in 2022 for the commemorative and figurative work. The competition rules will be announced at a later date.

    Celebrating the contribution of a homegrown giant
    This tribute highlights the cultural and social importance of this piano virtuoso, which is still widely recognized almost 15 years after his death. Born in 1924 in Le Sud-Ouest, Oscar Peterson contributed to Montréal’s image as a world-class cultural centre. He was also a major actor in the fight against racial inequalities.

    Place de l’avenue McGill College
    Place Oscar-Peterson is part of the redevelopment of Place McGill College. In October 2020, the team formed by civiliti + Mandaworks and SNC-Lavalin won the international multidisciplinary urban design competition for the redevelopment of the new Place de l’avenue McGill College. The winning team has been commissioned to carry out the detailed design of the section between Rue Cathcart and Boulevard De Maisonneuve. The final design concept will soon be announced.

    The avenue will become a grand and impressive public pedestrian square along its entire length, from Rue Cathcart to Rue Sherbrooke. The new design will transform the pedestrian experience within a natural landscape in the downtown core.

    *Perspective : View from the west side of the plaza from McGill College Avenue to Place Oscar Peterson with Place Ville Marie in the background.
    Source: civiliti + Mandaworks and SNC-Lavalin

  • McGill College project named a Gold Winner in the Grands Prix du Design

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    The “McGill College: Reinventing the Avenue” project has made its mark once again! Just a few months after it received an honourable mention in the World Landscape Architecture Awards, the project was named a Gold Winner in the 14th annual Grands Prix du Design.

    The project stood out because it significantly increased the city’s tree canopy, celebrating the return of biodiversity to downtown, as well as its concept that frees the avenue’s visual corridor towards Mount Royal, making it a perfect place to wander along and stop off at spaces that celebrate the changing seasons.

    As a Gold Winner, the McGill College project is eligible to become a Grand Prize winner at the gala evening, which will be held September 18 in Quebec City.

    This visionary project, which was designed by the civiliti, Mandaworks and SNC-Lavalin firms, proposes plant diversity in order to promote ecosystems and offer a varied landscape that regenerates the soil and enriches biodiversity.

    In addition to site vegetation, one of the strong elements of the project consists of channeling rainwater and melted snow along a long path that leads to a water garden at the extreme south end of the site. “Le Grand Foyer,” which can be used as an agora or a retention basin, is perfect for a wide range of activities all through the year. It features a fire ring where passersby can stop and warm up during the brutal winter months.

    Congratulations to the project designers!

    *The GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN celebrate the work of designers who aim to improve quality of life and built heritage both for us and for their public and private clients who put their trust in them.

  • The winning team announced!

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    The firms civiliti + Mandaworks (Sweden) and SNC-Lavalin have been named the winners of the multidisciplinary international urban design competition for the development of the new Place de l'avenue McGill College. The project was completed in collaboration with Lasalle-NHC, UDO Design, Biodiversité Conseil, Lamontagne Consultants and ÉVOQ, and the jury selected it from a field of five finalists. The proposal retained is inspiring and steeped in the spirit of the place, pairing urbanity, history and biodiversity to offer a transformed pedestrian experience.

    The winning concept will make it possible to experience downtown differently while heightening Montréal’s profile. With the redevelopment of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest and such iconic places as Square Phillips, the city’s downtown will soon be greener and more pleasant, resilient and human.

    Taking residents’ aspiration into consideration

    It’s worth reiterating that the project to transform Avenue McGill College was subject to a vast consultation led by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) and a positioning exercise involving more than 1,000 people. Out of this process a vision emerged, one that reflects the needs and aspirations of the city‘s residents.

    Using this vision as a point of departure, the winning concept called for the creation of a large green strip, which will become the distinctive element in this imposing new public space. It will offer unique seasonal experiences, along with pedestrian and discovery paths on different scales between McGill University and the large staircase at Place Ville-Marie, with an open view of Mount Royal.

    The new development also calls for an intensive greening effort and the integration of spaces conducive to contemplation and relaxation so that Montrealers can appropriate the space year-round.

    The development project’s final concept will be unveiled in 2021, and work operations should start in 2023.

    Please view the Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal Web site for complete details on the competition.

  • Place de l’avenue McGill College: An innovative participatory design approach!

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    Throughout the planning process for the Avenue McGill College modernization project, the city and its partners consulted with citizens and considered their questions and expectations. This participatory design approach is now a finalist for the Mérite Ovation municipale 2020 award from the Union des municipalités du Québec. The project was nominated in the “municipal administration” category for its creativity. Fingers crossed!

    Find out all about the award

  • The five finalists announced

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    Following last October’s launch of the international multidisciplinary urban design competition for the development of Avenue McGill College into a public square, the jury convened on January 16 and 17, 2020 to review the 28 “anonymous” proposals deemed admissible. Five teams of finalists were identified from among 13 competitors from Quebec, nine from Europe, five from the rest of North America, and one from Asia.

    The five finalists are:
    • Civiliti + Mandaworks
    • Daoust Lestage
    • Lemay par LemayLab
    • NÓS architectes
    • Provencher_Roy

    At this stage, the finalists are invited to develop their proposals and produce a sketch. The public presentation of the finalists’ projects before the jury will take place on May 26, 2020.

    The jury will then deliberate before selecting the winning project, which will be announced in the fall of 2020.

    For further information on the competition, click here.
  • Launch of the McGill College: An Avenue Reinvented design competition

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    The municipal administration is pleased to announce that it has launched a Multidisciplinary Urban Design Competition for the redevelopment of Avenue McGill College into a public square.

    Located in the heart of downtown Montréal, in an area experiencing rapid growth thanks to the redevelopment of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, the city’s largest commercial thoroughfare, and to the arrival of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), the Avenue McGill College square is aimed at offering Montrealers a new public space worthy of the 21st century.

    The city wishes to transform this iconic avenue, which spans an area of 16,000 square metres, into a relaxing, people-friendly space where nature flourishes between two Montréal landmarks, from Mount Royal to Place Ville Marie.

    For further information about the competition, click here.

    The press release on the subject.

  • The design competition will be launched soon!

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    The major planning exercise that the city established for purposes of imagining the future development of Avenue McGill College will soon come to fruition!

    In recent months, the city has worked to spell out the guiding vision for the project by overseeing the organization of an international design competition. In order to achieve this, its teams cross-referenced the results of the public consultation held by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) with those of the positioning exercise.

    In doing so, they were able to set out a vision that lives up to the aspirations and needs of residents, while taking into account the requirements and constraints specific to this major transformation project. The contribution of external partners and community actors also helped consolidate the strategic guidelines retained.

    The design competition will be launched in the coming weeks! Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified by e-mail as soon as the call for submissions is issued.

  • University students reinvent Avenue McGill College

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    On March 23, seven teams of architecture, urban planning and civil engineering students presented their inspiring vision for the future Avenue McGill College as part of a student charrette (intensive design workshop).

    In total, some 30 students from McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal and École de technologie supérieure participated in the student charrette on the redevelopment of Avenue McGill College. Participants had less than 48 hours to develop their projects to redesign Avenue McGill College.

    The jury was tied, so two projects were selected: Dunes givrées (Université de Montréal) and Adaptive Breathscape (McGill University). Both winning teams, each in their own way, emphasized green spaces and a multi-purpose design in order to meet the varied needs of neighbourhood residents, workers and visitors. The city awarded them a $1,600 bursary.

    The student charrette was part of the vast design process the city has implemented to create the future Avenue McGill College. In the fall of 2018, the city launched the process with a public consultation led by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal.

    The university community contributed to the discussion about the future of the McGill College project, an area that has a large amount of student traffic. Winning projects will inspire the functional and technical development program documentation, which will help to orient designers who are participating in the international design competition planned for fall 2019.

    Students are sure to be pleased to find a part of themselves in the design of the future Avenue McGill College.

Page last updated: 10 Oct 2023, 09:37 AM