Reverse belvedere at the foot of Mount Royal
We participated in a study for the renovation of the two-level interchange at the intersection of Park Avenue and Pine Avenue in the central Plateau district of Montreal. The project responds to a pressing need to demolish the current tangled interchange. This is necessary in order to rationalize traffic flow in the area and facilitate access to the adjacent Mount Royal.
The heritage setting of Mount Royal Park – icon of Montreal and creation of landscape mastermind Frederick Law Olmsted – became central to the project concept. To locals, the park’s distinguishing feature is its belvederes, which offer panoramic vistas of the surrounding city. Our urban analysis turned up the idea of transforming the former interchange into a kind of belvedere itself, offering a long-obscured view of the mountain. As a “reverse belvedere,” this project would allow visitors and residents alike to rediscover the topography of Montreal’s symbolic centre.
