The massive man-made maw we call Édouard-Montpetit station of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is still under construction. According to information REM officials shared with MTL Blog, one of the station's five high-speed elevators is near completion and the towering contraptions will take commuters down the first 50 metres of the station's 70-metre depth, making it the deepest metro station in Canada.
Outside the station, glass panels have been installed as one of the "signature" architectural elements of the station. The panels are intended to evoke both a "sense of security" and the "sensation of 'seeing and being seen,'" according to the REM. Once complete, the station's platforms will take travellers from Outremont to downtown in three minutes.
The Édouard-Montpetit REM station will also feature an interesting design choice: there are gaps in the station walls, revealing the rock behind the man-made structures.
A mock-up of Édouard-Montpetit station shows what the open rock displays might look like.Courtesy of the REM
The station's ceramic and paint installations will be completed in 2023, along with the crucial plumbing system. In the meantime, REM folks have placed colourful banners along the construction site's fence as part of an ongoing "embellishment program."
Local residents (perhaps perturbed by continued construction) can find solace in the art display nearby, which portrays the stations under the mountain as roommates. The same characters will soon be visible on rue Sainte-Catherine during the holiday season through some additional augmented reality work.
