Monumental Ice/Snow structure built
at the Lower Campus of McGill University
to celebrate the
School of Architecture's Centenary
as well as
McGill University's 175th anniversary
1996
The carved entrance portico of the Ice Pantheon.
Click image below for a large Centennial group photo.
"Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver"
Gilles Vigneault
Pantheon Redux
now of snow, and ice; scaled down, sure-
and the gods have stepped away from their niches.
The frieze will cloud in the spring sun,
the dome become water, earth, grass
beneath the feet of generations,
who yet may meet the builder, the absent heroes,
returning.
John Dixon,
Spring 1996
Building on a tradition dating back to the 1880's, and an ongoing McGill Architecture tradition (see pictures of ice structures built during the 1970's), staff and
students at the School of Architecture celebrated the School's
Centenary as well as the University's 175th anniversary by constructing an 'interpretation' of the Pantheon in
Rome at a scale of approximately one to five. In its final form, the "Pantheon in ice/snow" consisted of a 32 foot diameter domed meeting space, 32
foot high, with a 6 foot circular oculus. The structure was accessed through a entrance crowned by a classical pediment beautifully sculpted by Professor David Covo, who managed to carve an artful grouping of 3D images of the Macdonald-Harrington building, the Engineering Library, the Ice Pantheon as well as a several figures in the restricted space. (see the image above). In the McGill Reporter of January 11 Eric Smith gave an accurate account of the construction process.
Use
Unlike most historical ice structures which were built to be
exclusively looked at, the Ice Pantheon was design to be experienced
from within, as was its progenitor. (image to come). The space was opened formally by Principal Bernard Shapiro and Chancellor Gretta Chambers on January 26 and acted the same day as a restaurant and a venue for a Jazz concert in honour of The University'as 175th and Winter Carnival. The Pantheon splendidly accommodated the opening ceremonies for the Centenary of The School of Architecture on February 2, (image to come). The rock concert by the group "The Snitches" had to be moved indoors because the amplifiers refused to work in the -15C temperatures. A lecture on Roman Architecture by Professor Annmarie Adams was partly given inside the dome to explain the structure of the original Pantheon.
The structure's most fervent supporters
were, however, the thousands of people who visited 'just of the street'. Day and night there was a steady stream of them, and the structure got a bit of a reputation as a good place for winter-romance, particularly when the full moon shone through the occulus.
Throughout March the dome was left standing, a bit battered and bruised, like a boxer in the 15th round, elegantly encircled by the security snow fence. (image to come)
Finally, the day before Good Friday the romantic ruin was torn down by the same frontloader that put the snow in the forms three months earlier.
Construction Method
The construction system employed was analogous to methods used in
adobe construction, such as the pise method in Southern France.
Plywood forms were used over and over again, resting on previously
cast material, leaving behind the tell-tale holes in the wall
created by the two-by-fours which tied the inside and outside
forms. The Ice Pantheon was constructed of pure snow, which was more
plentiful this winter than at almost any time in memory.
The snow was collected by a frontloader from the campus, and shovelled, hoisted or blown into place. (images to come)
By
injecting the snow with water a very strong snow/ice mixture was
produced, in texture and properties not unlike roman concrete.
Statistics
The walls of the structure were four foot thick, while the dome
tapered in thickness from over four feet at the perimeter to one
foot at the oculus. About 15,000 cubic feet of snow was being used,
which, after watering weighed about 400 tons. The porch's snow
and ice weighed another fifty tons, bringing the gross weight
of the structure to about 450 tons.
Details
The seven interior niches, used in the Roman Pantheon for altars to
the Gods, were carved out by students in the second year Design Studio, with the help of some volunteers from the School and other departments of the University. The five rings of
twenty eight recesses in the domed roof were to be carved into
the ice/snow dome, but time ran out, and the dome remained smooth. (image to come)
Images
Images from the design and construction phases of the Ice Pantheon are available here. For more images, try Dirk Holtje.
For a recent article on ice structures in "The Fifth Column" click "The Architecture of Phase Change"
Ice Structure/Site Credits and Sponsors
This page last updated Aug 30 1996
