February 11, 2010

LEBLANC + TURCOTTE + SPOONER

The competition-winning design features a communications column that could house various components including backlit advertising posters.

Tenders planned by spring for Montreal bus shelter prototypes

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Montreal’s transit authority, Societe de transport de Montreal (STM), plans to call tenders by spring for the manufacture of prototypes for a new bus shelter following a recent design competition.

The shelter incorporates various elements including an advertising poster frame, a bench and a solar power system. The winning concept was submitted by the consortium Leblanc + Turcotte + Spooner.

Drawing inspiration from the STM’s newly minted brand signature, Collective Movement, the design proposal by Leblanc + Turcotte + Spooner offers a modular, scalable solution.

Featuring a self-supporting structure, the concept enables the manufacturing of base models, with the possibility of joining several units together to create variable-size configurations that can accommodate larger or smaller numbers of users.

The design features a communications column, which could house various components including dynamic digital displays and backlit advertising posters. An integrated solar power system will ensure lighting of shelters that cannot be connected to the power grid.

In a statement, the transit authority said the jury was especially impressed with the potential for integration and modular construction afforded by the winning team’s proposal.

Jury co-chairs Denise Vaillancourt, the agency’s executive director, planning, marketing and communications and architect Gilles Saucier, a partner in the firm Saucier + Perrotte, said the preliminary design offers “a comprehensive array of solutions” to the complex problems with which the competing designers were presented.

“The concept incorporates current technologies, and meets the STM’s comfort and safety requirements.”

The STM plans to have 400 new shelters built for installation across its network, gradually replacing the current models and responding to new needs.

The firm selected to manufacture the prototypes will be required to enlist the services of the winning design firm.

In addition, the STM will conduct its own evaluation of the prototypes and survey its users to gauge their appreciation of the design.

Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay said the project is a “concrete illustration” of the city’s willingness to ensure that Montreal’s designers play a paramount role in shaping the city’s future.

The competition was run by the Design Montreal office of the City of Montreal in conjunction with the STM.

The office’s mission is to implement a municipal action plan aimed at improving design throughout the city and positioning Montreal as a city of design.

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