A place where Montrealers can immerse themselves in skateboarding culture
Located on a site adjacent to a professional-level concrete bowl built for the 2019 Vans Park Series, this world-class infrastructure was designed to fit into an iconic public space of Montreal. With the opportunity to collaborate on the second phase of Sector 900 of the Parc Olympique’s Esplanade redevelopment, Lemay worked in concert with the Parc Olympique, partners in engineering and California Skatepark to create a street style skateboard course featuring a diverse series of obstacles for riders of all skill levels.
Every element of the course, metal or concrete, and its surroundings visually interconnect to allow for full views of the Olympic Stadium from every vantage point on the course. Designers planned for this sleek quality of the site to respect the conceptual scheme of the park’s originator, architect Roger Taillibert. Taillibert didn’t consider concrete a mundane construction material, but something versatile that could be moulded, compressed and shaped into curved forms—a belief reflected in the stadium, concrete bowl, and even the service booth on site, all forms oriented to flow smoothly from one to the other.
The rails of the new course were finished in bright red, while other modules were left to showcase their raw steel. Work also included the rehabilitation of watersheds, the complete rehabilitation of the accesses to and from Sector 900 of the esplanade, the implementation of a service booth and the restoration of the fountains.
Animating an emblematic space in Montreal, the skatepark’s openness invites onlookers to discover the sport while being universally accessible to users of all types, from beginners to pros and spectators who simply love to watch them in action. The new skatepark at the Parc Olympique is an icon within the city.
