Located in the heart of downtown Montréal, in an area experiencing rapid growth thanks to the redevelopment of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, the city’s largest commercial thoroughfare, and to the arrival of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), the Avenue McGill College square is aimed at offering Montrealers a new public space worthy of the 21st century.

The city wishes to transform this iconic avenue, which spans an area of 16,000 square metres, into a relaxing, people-friendly space where nature flourishes between two Montréal landmarks, from Mount Royal to Place Ville Marie.

The Deadline for handing in proposals ends on December 19, 2019 at noon Eastern Time.

Type of Competition

This competition is:

• A multidisciplinary urban design competition
• International in scope
• Held in three stages: the first involving anonymous proposals; the second involving service offerings submitted by a maximum of five finalists chosen after the first stage by the jury; and the third involving complementary service offerings submitted by two grand finalists chosen after the second stage by the jury.
• A project competition leading to a contract to execute the project

Stage 1
All competitors are invited to submit their anonymous proposal, presenting an overall idea of the project aspirations in accordance with the objectives of the competition.
The jury will retain a maximum of five proposals. This first stage is anonymous and unpaid.
Stage 2
The finalists attend an information meeting, and are then invited to expand upon their idea and present their service offering to the jury at a public hearing. At the end of this stage, which is paid, the jury will either recommend one winner and one runner-up, or select two grand finalists to proceed to a third stage.
Stage 3 (optional)
Upon request by the jury, the grand finalists will be invited to submit their complementary service offering, addressing the concerns expressed by the jury. At the end of this stage, which is paid, the jury will select and recommend to the city on winner and one runner-up.

Eligibility

Stage 1 / Proposal
Any team or firm that meets the following conditions is eligible to enter Stage 1:

Consisting of at least two designers including a lead designer who has been a member of a professional order or association in the field of architecture or landscape architecture for more than five years OR is a graduate of a university program leading to the design or completion of development projects
on public land and has at least ten years’ professional experience in similar projects.

Stage 2 / Service Offering
Any team or firm that meets, at a minimum, the eligibility conditions for Stage 1 and, at the time it submits its team complement dossier, comprises, at a minimum, the following persons is eligible to continue on to Stage 2:

• A co-ordinator who has been a certified member of a professional order or association in the field of architecture or landscape architecture for more than 10 years, and is authorized to practise their profession in Québec under the applicable laws, as the case may be; AND
• has completed at least one spatial design project on public land worth at least $10 million in construction costs, or three spatial design projects on public land worth at least $5 million each in construction costs, said costs being expressed in 2019 Canadian dollars.
• The co-ordinator of the team (after it has been declared the winner) must be present in Québec for the duration of the project.
• At least one landscape architect who has been a certified member of the AAPQ or a member in good standing of a professional order or association in the field of landscape architecture for at least five years OR a university graduate in landscape architecture having obtained their degree at least 10 years ago.
• At least one civil engineer who has been a member of a provincial or national order of engineers for at least 10 years and is authorized to practice the profession of engineer in Québec under the applicable laws. The civil engineer on the team (after it has been declared the winner) must be present in Québec for the duration of Phase 1 of the project.

Both the co-ordinator’s and the civil engineer’s firms must hold authorization to enter into contracts from the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) OR provide proof that they have submitted an application for such authorization to the AMP at the time the team complement dossier is submitted.

The Ville de Montréal encourages the formation of multidisciplinary teams (comprising a biologist or forestry engineer, mechanical engineer, structural engineer, electrical engineer, expert hydrologist, lighting designer etc.).

Complete information regarding eligibility may be found in the Competition Rules, on the SEAO website.

Compensation

Competitors (Stage 1)
No fees or allowances will be paid at this stage of the competition.

Finalists (Stage 2)
Each finalist who presents a service offering deemed compliant with the Rules will receive a lump sum of $84,000, taxes included.

Grand Finalists (Stage 3 – optional)
Each grand finalist who, at the request of the jury, presents a complementary service offering that is deemed compliant with the Rules will receive an additional lump sum of $7,000, taxes included.

Winner
The maximum amount budgeted for the professional fees to be paid to the winner is $2,811,692, excluding taxes, and provisions (including the fees paid for Stages 2 and 3).

Documents and registration

Interested competitors must obtain the competition documents through the website of the Système électronique d’appel d’offres SEAO (prior registration is required to do so). The documents will be available from October 30 to December 19, 2019.