geodesic_1048_westmountmag.ca

Montreal’s Geodesic Dreams
at UQAM Centre de Design

The exhibition explores the “geodesic moment” in architecture

Via v2com

geodesic dream - WestmountMag.ca

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the most famous geodesic dome in the world: the US Pavilion at Expo 67, designed by R. Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao. From first experiments undertaken in the late 1940s through to the proliferation of DIY domes in the early 1970s, the Montreal’s Geodesic Dreams exhibition at UQAM Centre de design explores the “geodesic moment” in architecture. It will reveal the forgotten role of Montreal and Quebec in the development of this innovative structural system that captured the 20th-century architectural imagination.

Montréal’s Geodesic Dreams

Photographs, drawings, books, documents, drawing instruments and design tools on loan from the Fonds Jeffrey Lindsay of the University of Calgary’s Canadian Architectural Archives and various other archives and collections will highlight the intricacy of those spherical structures. The exhibition will also feature a series of models, structural details at 1:1 scale, and a prototype 20’ diameter geodesic dome designed and built by Studio Cube with a team of students from UQAM’s École de design.

Granby Zoo polar bear enclosure - WestmountMag.ca

The polar bear enclosure at the Granby Zoo

The exhibition focuses on the work of the Montreal designer Jeffrey Lindsay (1924-84), founder and director of the Fuller Research Foundation Canadian Division based in Montreal between 1949 and 1956. His numerous projects will be presented, including several geodesic domes constructed on the Island of Montreal and its environs, among them “Weatherbreak” (1949-50) the first self-supporting, large-span geodesic dome ever built according to Fuller’s designs, which was assembled in Baie D’Urfé; “Skybreak” in Beaurepaire (1951); “Skigloo,” a chalet in Morin Heights (1952); and the Hackney Barn in Senneville (1952-54). The exhibition will also explore the diffusion of the geodesic dome in Québec, ranging from the polar bear enclosure at the Granby Zoo (Paul O. Trépanier and Victor Prus; 1962-63) to the dome of the US Pavilion at Expo 67.

The exhibition focuses on the work of the Montreal designer Jeffrey Lindsay (1924-84), founder and director of the Fuller Research Foundation Canadian Division based in Montréal between 1949 and 1956.

A bilingual catalogue accompanying the exhibition will be published by Dalhousie Architectural Press in mid-October.

The exhibition is realised in collaboration with the University of Calgary’s Canadian Architectural Archives.

geodesic dream - WestmountMag.ca

Dates: September 21 to December 10, 2017
Opening: Wednesday, September 20, at 6 pm
Guest curator: Cammie McAtee

Address and opening hours
UQAM Centre de Design
1440 Sanguinet (corner of Sainte-Catherine E)
Montreal (Berri-UQAM metro)
Open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 6 pm
Free admission

Information
514 987-3395
centrededesign.com
facebook.com/centrededesign.uqam.ca

Bouton S'inscrire à l'infolettre – WestmountMag.caFeature image: Jason Thibault – massivekontent.com
Other images: Fuller Research Fondation

Read also Habitat 67: The Shape of Things to Come


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UQAM offers the most complete programming in the field of the arts in Canada. It is the only Canadian university to offer courses in all artistic disciplines at all three levels of study. In the field of communications, UQAM is the largest French-language training center in the country. Each year, its graduates are renowned on the national and international scenes. galerie.uqam.ca

 



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