Montreal- The Ring Art Sculpture
Downtown Montreal like many downtowns in Canada was struggling at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic . Therefore it was timely that Ivanhoé Cambridge unveiled at a cost of $5 million “The Ring” at the Esplanade Place Ville Marie (PVM) in September 2022. The Ring is an art installation in the heart of downtown Montreal to mark the 60th anniversary of Place Ville Marie (PVM) an important downtown office complex and shopping mall which is the flagship property for the organization. The Ring is part of an overall $200-million renovation at Place Ville Marie was part of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s Nouveau Centre project, a $1-billion investment in downtown Montreal that included the redevelopment of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and Eaton Centre. The Ring was made possible by financial support from Tourisme Montréal as well as from the Government of Quebec’s financial contribution to the “I love working downtown” initiative of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal for the relaunch of Downtown Montreal.
The renewal of the Esplanade PVM includes a number of components including improved pedestrian access, a modernized shopping mall, and reconfigured underground entrance to public transit. The centrepiece of the Esplanade is an imposing glass pavilion which is a visually striking entrance to the food court and Montréal’s Underground City below. A grand staircase was added connecting the Esplanade to McGill College Avenue with The Ring celebrating the striking view of the McGill University campus in the distance.
The Ring is a steel structure, measuring 30 metres in diameter and is suspended at the main entrance to Esplanade PVM . The installation was designed by Claude Cormier + Associés, which is a a landscape architecture firm. The Ring frames this iconic view representing over 200 years of Montreal history .Looking up McGill College Avenue, at the end of the axis, is McGill University, founded in 1821; behind it, is Fredrick Law Olmsted’s Mount Royal Park (1874), with the white cross, put up in 1924 to commemorate Maisonneuve’s cross on Mount Royal marking the the founding of Montreal in 1643. The Ring is suspended between two buildings at the top of the stairs of the main entrance to the Esplanade PVM and anticipates the new underground entrance to the regional commuter train (REM) tracks coming into the McGill Metro station underneath it all which will be the final destination of the whole REM system. The project anticipates a future pedestrianized McGill College Avenue that will feature a public square honouring jazz musician Oscar Peterson. The City of Montreal has ambitious plans for the revitalization of Esplanade PVM which is anticipated to become the largest urban plaza in Montreal. The construction of the new streetscape on Ste-Catherine Street, Place Oscar Peterson, and The Ring will restore Esplanade PVM to its intended role as a major gathering place in downtown
The Ring Stats:
- More than 23,000 kilograms (50,000 pounds) of stainless steel;
- A curved tube measuring 80 centimetres (31.5 inches) in diameter and forming a ring 30 metres in diameter (90 feet);
- The product of almost two years of collaboration by a multidisciplinary team;
- Located at the corner of McGill College Avenue and Cathcart Street
The Ring Sculpture at Esplanade PVM at the corner of McGill College Avenue and Cathcart Street in Downtown Montreal.
http://Promise Ring: The Ring, Place Ville Marie, Montreal, Quebec (canadianarchitect.com)
