The Montreal UNESCO City of Design initiative aims at creating opportunities for designers in Montreal so as to give vital and tangible expression to Montréal’s status as a UNESCO City of Design.

First launched through an investment of $1.2 million over three years (2007-2011), the initiative aims to fund design and architecture competitions as well as promote made-in-Montreal design initiatives via various digital communication tools.

Background

In June 2006, Montreal was officially designated a UNESCO City of Design, joining the Creative Cities Network established by UNESCO in 2004.

In granting Montreal the title City of Design, UNESCO has acknowledged the city’s creative potential in design disciplines, based on the strong concentration of talent here as well as the commitment and determination of the City of Montreal, other levels of government, and civil society to build on those strengths for the purpose of enhancing Montrealers’ quality of life.

The UNESCO designation is neither a label nor a form of recognition. It is an invitation to develop Montreal around its creative forces in design.

Montreal UNESCO City of Design is thus a collective project that, to become a reality over time, demands that all stakeholders – elected officials, citizens, experts, entrepreneurs, and designers – invest in the project and make it their own.

In November 2007, the governments of Canada and Quebec, the City of Montreal, and various cultural and business groups (all partners in the Montréal, Cultural Metropolis gathering in November 2007), responded to this UNESCO invitation by agreeing, as part of their 2007-2017 Action Plan, to promote excellence in design and architecture (Commitment 3.2) and to uphold Montreal as a UNESCO City of Design (Commitment 4.4).

Motivated by the implementation of these commitments, the Bureau du design of the Ville de Montréal and the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montreal, both promoters of Montreal’s candidacy as a UNESCO City of Design, launched a 3-year project entitled Building Montreal UNESCO City of Design with the assistance of 4 major public partners: the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, the Conférence régionale des Élus de Montréal and the City of Montreal.

In June 2009, a call went out for everyone to work together in implementing Montreal UNESCO City of Design.

Mission

The goal of the Montreal UNESCO City of Design initiative is to enhance the design quality of objects, buildings, and public spaces intended for Montrealers through better upstream integration of project designers in various disciplines.

Values

The Montreal UNESCO City of Design initiative is based on the idea of quality in design:

• It is an area of concern
• It is the outcome of a process
• It is defined by certain criteria

Approach

The initiative aims to:

• Lead the various influential players in urban development to engage with the project to conceive and build the city with input from designers
• Champion those who defend quality in design
• Develop, by the power of example, Montrealers’ interest in and taste for – and, consequently, their demand for – good design
• Democratize quality in design: a city is built not only on exceptions (the “spectacular”) but on the sum of individual efforts (“the ordinary”)
• Open up the awarding of public commissions and make them more accessible: creating room for the next generation, letting new talents flourish by enabling them to contribute to the city’s future
• Promote design competitions as the preferred process for awarding public commissions, because of their transparency, their educational scope, and the quality that they generate
• Encourage the undertaking of projects that contribute to the quality and sustainability of the living environment, and to the development of Montreal’s urban landscapes

Principal Researcher

• Philippe Poullaouec-Gonidec
  Professor Emeritus École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Associate Researcher UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM) / Membre fondateur UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM) / Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM)

Co-reasearcher

• Sylvain Paquette
  University of Montreal / Full Professor School of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture / Principal Researcher Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM) / Associate Researcher UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM)

Research Agents

• Marc Chenouda
  Research Agent Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM) / Student School of Architecture
• François-Xavier Tremblay
  Research Agent Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM) / Consultant Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM) / Web and Social Media Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM)
• Valérie Gravel
  Student School of Architecture / Architectural Intern N/A
• Patrick Marmen
  Chargée de cours École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Chargé de formation pratique École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Research Agent Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM)

Auxiliaires de recherche

• Julie Bergeron
  Research Assistant Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM) / Student Faculty of Environmental Design
• Alexander Sauthoff
  Student School of Landscape Architecture
• Jacinthe De Guire
  Student Faculty of Environmental Design

Production Team – Bureau du design, City of Montréal

• Caroline Dubuc
  Design Commissioner Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal / Student School of Landscape Architecture
• Marie-Josée Lacroix
  Design Commissioner Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal / Directrice Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
• Stéphanie Jecrois
  Design Commissioner Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal / Communications Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal / Chargée de projet Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
• Béatrice Carabin
  Design Commissioner Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
• Dominique McGregor
  Project Manager Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal

External Collaborator

• Ysabel Viau
  Translation Daly-Dallaire / Révision liguistique Daly-Dallaire

• Attractivité et développement
• Design urbain
• Identité et lieu
• Planification territoriale
• Processus concerté et paysage
• Villes créatives

• Chantier Montréal ville UNESCO de Design en actions et en chiffres – Compte-rendu
• Concours et ateliers – Ligne du temps
• Lancement du chantier Montréal Ville UNESCO de design
• Mise en réseau internationale – Ligne du temps
• Montréal Ville UNESCO de design
• Promotion et diffusion – Ligne du temps

Financing partners

• City of Montreal
• Ministère des affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire (MAMROT)
• Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine (MCCCF)
• Conférence Régionale des Élus de Montréal (CRÉ Montréal)

Other partners

• UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM)
• Commission canadienne pour l’UNSECO (Ottawa)
• Ministère des affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire (MAMROT)
• Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine (MCCCF)
• Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
• Conférence Régionale des Élus de Montréal (CRÉ Montréal)