Engineering Civility

Ten London-based architects have transformed the prosaic civil engineering palette of bored tunnels, cut-and-cover retaining wall boxes, and floor braces into a (mostly) underground experience with qualities the passenger might least expect: wonder, mystery, even rugged beauty. It is no easier to build such complex structures to a high design standard in England than it is in America. The daunting engineering and astronomical per-kilometre costs of underground rail transit systems make them a difficult endeavor under the best of circumstances. But boring the 13 kilometre line beneath a historic city shot through with existing subway lines and the fragile foundations of thousands of buildings can make a shambles of cost estimates and schedules (as indeed, in this case, it did).

The chief architect for the extension of the London Underground, Roland Paoletti, had a clear vision: "I wanted the stations to be a fusion, one in which you could not tell where the engineering ended and the architecture began. Each station is very different, but the common theme is making architecture of the heavy engineering."

The circumstances surrounding the Montreal Metro extension are not that different from those of the London Underground. Considerations were made to cross Le Riviere des Prairies in the air but this was found to be too difficult.See Site: history of development. So in the extension of the line from Henri Bourassa to the new Cartier station Civil Engineering may evoke a particular architectural expression.