Montréal's designers are shining at the Covilhã Design Triennial in Portugal

From March 21 to June 21, 2025, Montréal is taking part in the Covilhã Design Triennial in Portugal. This is the first iteration of the event put on by the city of Covilhã, a member of UNESCO Cities of Design subnetwork since 2021. The Triennial has positioned itself as a key event on the national design calendar. The large-scale gathering is a space for dissemination and discussion of best practices both locally and globally, in the manufacturing and service sectors. 

Members of the Creative Cities Network were invited to participate as an extension of the World Wide Things Collection, an exhibition project initiated by Montréal and Graz in 2018 that aims to raise the profile of great international designs. 

For the Covilhã Triennial, the Bureau du design worked with INÉDI, a member of the Réseau des CCTT (network of college centres for technology transfer), to re-create a typical Montréal summer street scene using 3D printing. The exhibition features 10 street furniture designs drawn from the Handbook of Best Practices for Quality of Temporary Street Design Projects: 
 

1. Shade structures – Avenue Bernard, borough of Outremont (pedestrianized street, 2023) Design by: EVOQ Architecture
2. Misting installation – Rue Ontario, borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (pedestrianized street, 2020) Design by: PXP – Design intégré, NIPPAYSAGE, Paprika Design and Atomic3
3. Jardin nourricier planters and Carrés fleuris flowerbeds – Avenue du Mont-Royal, borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal (pedestrianized street, 2023) Design by: Cultiver Montréal (planters) and Nomade, Odace Événements and EN TEMPS ET LIEU (flowerbeds)
4. Méandre benches – Avenue du Mont-Royal, borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal (pedestrianized street, 2024) Design by: Studio Dikini
5. Ontario en fête furniture – Rue Ontario, borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (pedestrianized street, 2023) Design by: PXP – Design intégré
6. Prenez place – Parc Hydro-Québec, Quartier des Spectacles, borough of Ville-Marie (public square, 2020) Design by: ADHOC Architectes, in collaboration with Maude Lescarbeau and Camille Blais (graphic designers)
7. WELL WELL WELL – Rue Wellington, borough of Verdun (pedestrianized street, 2022–2023) Design by: Castor et Pollux and ADHOC Architectes
8. La Forêt urbaine at the McCord Museum (now the McCord Stewart Museum) – Rue Victoria, borough of Ville-Marie (rue-place, 2019–2021) Design by: WANTED paysage (Paula Meijerink), in collaboration with hART architecture objet design urbain
9. Ontario en fête play spaces – Rue Ontario, borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (pedestrianized street, 2023) Design by: PXP – Design intégré
10. Les Jardins Gamelin – Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, borough of Ville-Marie (pedestrianized street, 2024) Design by: Le Comité, generique design, maubau, Ludovic Marsolais-Viau and Marc-André Carignan

The Triennial is an excellent visibility opportunity alongside a dozen or so member cities of the UNESCO Cities of Design subnetwork!

Visit the Triennial’s website
See the Triennial's Instagram page