Eight finalist designs revealed in Lord Stanley’s Gift Public Art competition

A total of 40 Canadian design teams submitted RFQs in hopes to participate in the Lord Stanley's Gift Public Art Competition, which is seeking the winning design for Lord Stanley's Monument proposed for Ottawa's Sparks Street Mall. Today, the designs of the eight finalists were publicly revealed. 

The monument will be a new landmark honoring the cultural significance of hockey in Canada. Earlier this month, finalists submitted their proposals for evaluation by a jury comprising of leading Canadians in art, history, culture, and of course, hockey. 

The winner is currently expected to be announced on October 25, and the monument's unveiling will happen in December 2017 — in time for Canada's 150th anniversary celebration and the Stanley Cup's 125th anniversary.

Check out the finalist designs below.

STUDIO WEST / EXP. from Cochrane / Calgary, AB

Project excerpt: “The Stanley Cup represents our love for the game and holds a certain reverence to all Canadians, whispering the stories of our hockey legends. All of our decisions with respect to the design and all its components are based on this central theme. Our idea for Lord Stanley’s Gift is to create a large, heroic-scaled bronze statue of Lord Stanley, approximately 4 metres in height. He stands on a large granite base, approximately 1.2 metres in height, in celebration of his love of sport, and especially of hockey. Lord Stanley was a distinguished figure and his presentation in bronze will not only be materially appropriate, but also an awesome sight. Lord Stanley will hold in his right hand a replica of the original Stanley Cup. The sculpture will be positioned so that the original Cup can be seen from the west end of Sparks Street. To the left of the sculpture will be a larger- than-life size modern day Stanley Cup. The modern Cup will be anchored to the front of two bronze panels of life-size hockey boards. The bronze panels will have three dimensional relief of cheering fans. Both Cups will be constructed of stainless steel. Lord Stanley will appear to be gesturing to the Modern Cup as if saying, ‘From this bowl has evolved the Stanley Cup we all know so well. Come celebrate with me.’”

JA ARCHITECTURE STUDIO & SEBASTIAN ERRAZURIZ STUDIO from Toronto, ON / New York, USA

Project excerpt: “Instead of recreating its shape, the decision was to focus on the outline of the cup and build around the unique silhouette a new and contemporary ‘Arc De Triomphe’. This notion of an arch would constitute the base with which to design and build a new and contemporary arch of triumph for the sport of hockey. An arch of triumph that could celebrate the heroes of the Stanley Cup...The new arch should be able to function as an “Arch of Light”, a monument that could simultaneously constitute a sun calendar. Much like the ancient stone constructions carefully created to measure time and its relation with the stars, our design would attempt to capitalize on the unique light of the Northern Hemisphere, to draw with light the Stanley Cup on the floors of the City of Ottawa and mark the passing of time. The design of the monument was carefully perfected to capture as much light as possible and channel it through its interior shape....as the sun slowly advances, so would the cup, marking on the monument’s floor the different key moments which are celebrated during 2017.”

NORTH DESIGN OFFICE / BLACKWELL / MULVI&BANANI from Toronto, ON

Project excerpt: “The monument to represent Lord Stanley’s Gift is comprised of nine visible bands of durably thick rolled and polished stainless steel of varying sizes, in reference to the Stanley Cup’s growth with the successive crowning of champions, and its current nine part configuration of engraved segments (five bands on the barrel, three bands/base rings below the bowl, and the bowl itself). The nine bands also represent the nine different teams that held the original challenge cup...The height is also set to be highly respectful of adjacent and important Canadian monuments. The polished precision and craftsmanship of the monument will relay the pursuit of excellence, contributing to the public realm of Canada’s capital. The three widest bands will have a mirror polished finish, enticing visitors to approach the monument and see themselves as part of The Cup—the most globally renowned sports trophy—an incredible Canadian legacy to hockey. The remaining six narrower bands will be brushed stainless steel to provide dimension, beauty, strength, and longevity to the monument as a public landmark.”

COVIT/NGUYEN/NORR from Montreal, QC

Project excerpt: “The massing of the Cup with the Bench is strong in it simplicity; an unmistakable reminder of the Stanley Cup and the initial gifting event, it takes its place among the many symbols in Ottawa important to our Canadian identity. Legible at a distance, more is revealed upon approach. There is an element of surprise when first entering the Cup and activating the quiet whoosh of skates on ice, complemented by in depth information on the history of the Stanley Cup and the teams that vied for this prize available through the dedicated website. The sculptural installation invites the visitor into the artwork and the memory of an important moment in our collective history, creating a significant, experiential place for citizens and visitors in Ottawa in celebration of Lord Stanley’s gift.”

INTÉGRAL JEAN BEAUDOIN + NOVALUX from Montreal, QC

Project excerpt: “The monument will bear the memory of all champions, hosting those retired from the trophy as well as the champions to come. At a new scale, one that belongs to dreams and memories, the names of champions will be suspended in ice and water to create a unique infoscape. For a moment in Ottawa, the informal walk, or the destination of a visitor, will become a passage experience in an information landscape...Between the two walls, the permanent writings of the upper part of the cup will outline a passageway. Encrypted glass tiles will enlighten, to invite the visitor inside the cup’s memorial. The passage will at its highest point echo the subtle elevated feeling of being on ice skates. In the centre of the passage, ‘a puck will be dropped’ marked by the acknowledgement of Lord Stanley’s Gift.”

COUPLAND/LEINSTER/MILLS from Vancouver BC / Toronto, ON

Project excerpt: “Our design intent for this important commemorative project was quite simple. To make a singular and distinct monument that is an object of joy that makes you smile. We wanted to make something every Canadian will want to see, photograph, share and celebrate. In doing so, we are honouring Lord Stanley and keeping alive, vibrant and relevant the gift he made a century ago. Given the constraints around using the form of the present Stanley Cup, we decided on a simple technique developed in the Renaissance: the use of foreshortening. Foreshortening is a method of rendering a specific object or figure in a picture in depth, foreshortening is used by artists to record the distortion seen by the eye when an object or figure is viewed at a distance or at an unusual angle. By rendering the Cup in an elongated form, we are symbolizing ‘breaking away’ from its birthplace at Confederation Square. We also avoid direct use of the copyrighted shape. Through the use of foreshortening, each viewer can find the ‘sweet spot’ that allows the image to be seen as the classic current Cup.”

SPMB/1 X 1 ARCHITECTURE from Winnipeg, MB

Project excerpt: “THE DREAM is spmb1x1’s design proposal for the Lord Stanley’s Gift Public Art Competition. Working with four-time Stanley Cup winner Ab McDonald (#14) we have concentrated our collective effort to design a monument that will appeal to all the diverse constituencies associated with the sport of hockey and the public realm. We have embraced the spirit of the game during our creative process to achieve a balance between the long tradition of hockey with the Stanley Cup, critical urban aspects of the City of Ottawa and the Sparks Street Mall site, as well as the cultural qualities that inform contemporary monuments. In 1950, Ted Lindsay of the Detroit Red Wings became the first captain who, upon winning the Cup, hoisted it over his head in celebration of the team’s victory. Hoisting the Stanley Cup has since become the iconic image of the Stanley Cup champion...Inspired by this powerful tradition, THE DREAM captures the iconic moment of a captain hoisting the Stanley Cup, the celebratory moment experienced by the winning team and their fans, and the deep-rooted desire of players and fans alike to be Stanley Cup champions.”

MYROS TRUTIAK / PELLETTIER / VANDERGAAST from Toronto, ON

Project excerpt: “The central concept is both simple and straightforward: to present and celebrate the enduring legacy of Lord Stanley’s gift personified by the man, the cup and two children who represent the next generation of Canadians...From our initial discussions...we agreed that our design should embrace the renowned Stanley Cup as both a physical and symbolic structure within which to weave the narratives and history of Lord Stanley’s gift. Within the architectural space of a twenty-foot tall, stylized depiction of the present day cup, a larger than life-sized figure of Lord Stanley stands at the imagined moment that he first gazes in contemplation at the original silver cup. His gesture also offers the possibility of a second interpretation: the presentation of his gift to the nation, the sport of hockey and future generations. The presence of two, contemporary young children, a girl and a boy, support this second interpretation. As they prepare to face-off in a game of scrimmage, they glance up across time at the figure holding the silver cup towards them. One hundred and twenty-five maple leaves, lightly sandblasted in the granite paving, flow from Lord Stanley’s feet outward to the children’s skates connecting his historic moment to their own. At the four corners of the site, life-sized granite hockey boards reinforce the hockey narrative creating the illusion of a hockey rink.”

The designs will be exhibited at the Canada Council for the Arts Âjagemô Gallery until tomorrow. Also, the public can send comments about the designs until October 7. 

You can see the finalist entries in full here.

All images and quoted text via.