The Morph.o.polis organization is pleased to announce the winners of the second edition of its call for ideas under the theme: “Transit Montreal.”

Team no.35 “CANO” won first place following the deliberations of the jury, which met on March 27. The first prize was unanimous among the members of the jury: it is a complex project that has brought the reflection of the urban space, its transport in consideration of the four (4) Seasons. This project makes us dream of a better city: a city of the near-future not so far away. 

Over thirty teams have expressed interest to participate in the Morph.o.polis Call for Ideas and in the end, 24 teams of architects, students, engineers and professionals in design and other disciplines submitted their proposals. This year’s theme challenges contestants to explore the ideas of mass transit, intelligent transit, transit’s integration to the urban fabric, and their urban interfaces, and to rethink transitional points in the city (air transport, the river, urban, underground etc.). Every year, the contest is open to all citizens, students and planning professionals. While all may apply, multidisciplinary teams are strongly advised. This year, in collaboration with the School of Architecture from the University of Montréal, the contest held guest lectures pertaining to its Transit Montreal theme, and concluded with a prize announcement during an event at the Maison de l’Architecture du Québec.

All the winners of this second edition of MORPHOPOLIS are as follows:

First place

Team no.35 “CANO” composed of Laurent Roy (intern in architecture), Maxime Brosseau (architect), Carolyn Kelly-Dorais (urban design student), Karyna St-Pierre (intern in landscape architecture) and Pierre-Yves Diehl (interior designer). The CANO project provides a prominent place for active transportation as well as a new form of public transport that complements the existing network. It sets up green space that crosses the city and connects the various parks, forbidden cars and dedicated to pedestrians and active transportation. The different axes connected by the casting are the Paths or ‘‘Trails’’. The vehicles, are stored in terminals called ‘‘Mills’’. These are stacking architectures consisting of a vertical farm, a vegetable wall and a grocery store. Les ‘‘Moulins’’ become a landmark in the city and a signature new element characteristic of the Montréal landscape. The only motorized vehicles allowed on the Trails are the ‘‘Éoles’’. These fully autonomous vehicles are designed for a pedestrian zone. They are compact, electric and suitable for people with reduced mobility. With a maximum speed of 30 km / h, they adapt to the rhythm of the green spaces and are available for rental on the same principle as the ‘‘Bixis’’. The Éoles could become the only means of land transport in Montreal in the future. Cano is a project in a greener, more connected and safe city that places the human and the fluidity of its transits at the heart of its development.

Second place

Team no.33 “Plage Horaire” composed of Godefroy Meyer (architect) and Maude Hallé Saint-Cyr (architect). This team proposes to make the 132 highway underground for about 1.5 km in order to allow citizens to visually and physically take advantage of the natural banks and allow access to the water.

Third place

Team no.30 “Wagon Vert” composed of Paul Chevalier (architect) and Claire Peyrot (architect).

About Morph.o.polis 

Morph.o.polis was founded in 2015 by two architecture graduate students from the University of Montreal: Veronique Lemay and Isabelle A. Jolicoeur. Also involved in the organization of the competition, Simon Tremblay and Hugo Sévigny both also graduated from the Master Architecture program at the University of Montreal. The organization is supported and sponsored by distinguished architecture offices, and sustainable development organizations within Montreal.