Create Winter at Quartier des Spectacles – Place des Festivals

This competition is in line with a major focus of the Quartier des spectacles aimed at making it an international destination celebrated both as a site of cultural creation and presentation and as an area of for urban tourism. The total budget for developing the three sites is $480,000.

Again this year, and as part of the 5th anniversary of Montréal's designation as a UNESCO City of Design, the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles is seeking to create the unexpected and to use the area to present three one-of-a-kind urban installations during year-end festivities. For this purpose, the Partenariat is holding the competition to create a meeting of ideas that can generate innovative, high-quality solutions and to choose the firms that will produce turnkey projects.

Designers are asked to suggest concepts for one, two or all three sites. Proposals will be compared by site in the judging. The installations, to include daytime and night-time components, must offer an atmosphere and an urban experience previously unfamiliar to the general public. Creations should be festive, entertaining and participatory, encouraging people to wander around and bringing new energy to public spaces in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles.

The competition to develop and enliven public spaces is divided into three sub-competitions, including the assessment of proposals and services and the awarding of mandates, being conducted independently for each site covered in the competition:

1. Area surrounding the Saint-Laurent metro station
2. Place des Festivals
3. Place Émilie-Gamelin

The competition is:

• open;
• free;
• multidisciplinary;
• Canada-wide;
• held in two stages: the first consisting of anonymous proposals, the second consisting of service offerings prepared by tree jury-selected finalists.

Stage 1 - Proposals
The jury will be asked to shortlist a maximum of three (3) finalists per site (for a maximum total of 9 finalists) at the end of the first stage, during which registered applicants will have submitted proposals anonymously.

Stage 2 - Submissions
The finalists will then be invited to prepare their submission, with compensation.

Eligible contestants may be any designer, or any team having at least one principal designer, and must meet the following conditions at the time of competing:

• Works in the areas of development and design (architecture, landscape architecture, land use, urban design, interior design, environmental design, industrial design, graphic design) and/or in the fields of multimedia event design, stage arts design (set designer, director, light and video designer) or visual and media arts design.
• Is able to handle a turnkey project (including the production and installation stages) or combine with a producer at Stage 2 no later than the date appearing in the calendar.
• Can provide proof of insurance no later than the date appearing in the calendar.
• Is based, at least as concerns the team's principal designer, at a head office located in Canada at the time of entry.

The seven-person jury comprises:

• Pierre Fortin, General director, Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles
• Pascal Lefebvre, Director of programming, Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles
• Réal Lestage, urbanist, Daoust Lestage inc., architecture design urbain
• Alain Lortie, lighting designer, Lortie Design Lumière inc.
• Melissa Mongiat, designer, Andraos & Mongiat
• Céline Poisson, industrial designer, professor et director of DESS en design d'événements, École de design de l'UQAM
• Annie Ypperciel, landscape architect, Direction des grands parcs et du verdissement - Division de la gestion stratégique - recherche et développement, Ville de Montréal

Registration is compulsory and free of charge. It enables contestants to obtain the competition documents and to ensure liaison with the communications network established by professional advisor Véronique Rioux.

The registration form must be filled out and sent by e-mail no later than June 29, 2011, at noon local time, to: @email

Proposals must be submitted via an electronic link provided upon registration no later than July 4, 2011, at noon local time.

Finalists must submit their projects no later than September 6, 2011, at noon local time, at the following address:

Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles
Create Winter at Quartier des spectacles Competition
1435, Saint-Alexandre Street, Suite 500
Montréal (Québec) H3A 2G4

All communications pass solely through the professional advisor. Any question or request for details from an entrant or finalist on the subject of the competition must be send directly and solely to the professional advisor by e-mail within the time set out for questions in the calendar contained in the Rules and Regulations.

Véronique Rioux, professional advisor
Email: @email