Editorial: New Champlain Bridge should be beautiful, not only functional
Source:
Montreal Gazette
It is not often that Montreal gets a chance to endow itself with an architectural treasure that will uplift our city in the eyes of the world.
Such an opportunity is now at hand with planning underway for the construction of a new bridge across the St. Lawrence River to replace a Champlain Bridge that has fallen into irreparable decrepitude.
The idea that the new bridge should not be just a bridge, but a beautiful bridge, was floated shortly after the project got the go-ahead: a structure that would be a distinguishing advertisement for Montreal the world over in the way the Opera House says Sydney, the Guggenheim Museum says Bilbao and the Eiffel Tower says Paris.
Bridges in particular lend themselves to such stature, prime examples being the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Tower Bridge in London.
The notion of making something spectacular of the new Champlain has garnered impressive local backing. Early on board were local real-estate mogul Stephen Leopold and lawyer/diplomat Yves Fortier. The Board of Trade is onside with the idea, as is Heritage Montreal, not to mention city council, which passed a motion in January urging project-overseer Transport Canada to launch an international architectural competition for the new bridge’s design.
This week came the first indication, albeit tentative, that the federal government is in accord with the idea. Transport Minister Denis Lebel, in town for consultations on the project, ventured to say that the new bridge should indeed have “architectural quality,” though he declined to go so far as to commit himself to the popular local option of an international design competition. Nevertheless, he did not write it off either, saying it is one option along with a murkier process he called a “competitive dialogue” whereby bidders for the job propose designs, and include technical design criteria.
While Lebel’s remarks were not quite what the new Champlain’s local champions are seeking, it is nevertheless an encouraging development from the federal government, which is responsible for the span linking Montreal and the South Shore. As Elaine Ayotte, the city executive committee member responsible for culture and heritage, put it, the minister’s statement should be taken as a measure of the glass being half full, not half empty, since it is at least an acknowledgment from Ottawa that the bridge should be more than simply a functional roadway across the river.
Lebel did have a valid point when he fretted that the government is wary of delays and extra expense in committing to an international design competition. It is insisting on keeping the project within a $3-billion to $5-billion budget and maintaining the proposed 2021 completion date. Delays threaten to increase not only the cost of the new bridge, but also to add to the cost of maintaining the current span.
Going for an architectural gem is something of a gamble. It can turn out for the best or the worst, as Montrealers should know. For the best, we have I.M. Pei’s Place Ville Marie, a gem of world-class design and first-rate materials, a building that stands as an iconic Montreal landmark half a century on. For worst we have the Roger Taillibert’s Olympic Stadium, an audacious design that has proven to be wretchedly dysfunctional and stands as a signature embarrassment.
Still, that experience should not deter high ambitions for the new bridge; the chance to do something great is there and should be seized. It’s imperative that beautiful form and reliable function go hand in hand in such an undertaking.
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