Chronology

November 12, 2013
Featuring such well-known writers as Irving Layton, Mordecai Richler and Margaret Atwood, this outdoor exhibition documents a vibrant time in Montreal’s English literary history. During the 1960s, Quebec was undergoing radical economic and cultural reform. At the same time, a powerful group of anglophone writers was making its presence known in the city.

October 23, 2013
A new public art competition invites graduate students enrolled in Concordia’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts program to create large-scale works of art that complement traditional symbols of remembrance.

October 9, 2013
Concordia’s new Image Grid, in the FOFA Gallery courtyard on Ste-Catherine Street, allows passersby a chance to engage with some of the distinct works of art created by students in Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts.

June 18, 2013
A new work by Quebec artist Pascal Grandmaison, Lumière intérieure (Inner Light), graces the lobby of the Guy-Metro (GM) Building. The internationally renowned artist created an image of intense neural activity as a way to depict the creative and intellectual life of the university.

June 18, 2013
An outdoor exhibition series highlights the history and inhabitants of the Quartier Concordia by way of large visual displays on the vitrines along Guy Street on the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV Building).

November 20, 2012
The first installment of an exhibition series opens with the tracing of the history of Quartier Concordia and its environs. From the construction of the Sulpician Grand Seminary on Sherbrooke Street until present day, this vitrines exhibition includes stories about some of the neighbourhood’s most important builders.

November 7, 2012
By November 2012, construction of the new bicycle paths and sidewalks along De Maisonneuve Boulevard was complete. Meanwhile, work was progressing in front of the Henry F. Hall Building and J.W. McConnell Library Building.

May 2, 2011
At a public meeting in 2011, representatives from the university presented their views on the City of Montreal’s Quartier des Grands Jardins, which includes the university’s downtown campus.

April 19, 2011
Walking through the tunnel under De Maisonneuve Boulevard has become a different, more introspective experience thanks to the newest addition to Concordia’s public artwork collection.

March 9, 2011
The large-scale construction project to refurbish the Guy-Metro (GM) Building continues with demolition work inside the building.

April 19, 2010
Concordia University will unveil a major new artwork by Yehouda Chaki on April 20, 2010. The stained glass work has been positioned in the pedestrian tunnel spanning Guy Street which links two signature buildings in Quartier Concordia - Engineering and Visual Arts (EV) and John Molson School of Business (MB).

November 15, 2010
A reflective Remembrance Day ceremony was held on November 11, in the atrium of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex, in honour of those who sacrificed their lives in military service and those currently serving overseas.

January 13, 2010
The City of Montreal identifies the enhancement of De Maisonneuve Blvd. through Quartier Concordia among its top priorities in its annual budget.

November 13, 2009
Concordia President Judith Woodsworth commemorates the 70th anniversary of the passing of Norman Bethune with members of Chinese Embassy of Canada, the Montreal Chinese Community Cultural Centre, members of the Concordia University Chinese Students' Association, as well as representatives from the City of Montreal with a ceremony in Place Norman Bethune.

September, 2009
Artist and Concordia photography professor Genèvieve Cadieux completes Lierre sur Pierre. The 50 square metre anodized metal sculpture depicting vines climbing the limestone walls is placed on the north face of the new Molson Building. Cadieux chose the reflective material as a tribute to Concordia's historical dedication to access to education. "It reflects its surroundings and the viewer can project him or herself in the institution," she says.

September 22, 2009
The new home of the John Molson School of Business, the Molson Building, opens its doors. Nine years in the making, the 17-storey 37 000-square-foot edifice encompasses cutting edge solar panel and energy efficiency systems, making it the first building of its kind in the world.

February 21, 2009
Concordia and the Grey Nuns welcome neighbourhood residents and Fine Arts Faculty and staff into the Grey Nuns Mother House for a series of open house tours. More than 100 people visit the historic structure.

January, 2009
Construction on the tunnel connecting the GM and Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Buildings with the LB and Hall Buildings begins. The 396-foot passage will connect to the Metro transport system to create a self-contained underground network easily accessed all year. Completion is set for early 2010.

January 12, 2009
Two new shuttle buses hit the road. Replacing the two oldest buses in the fleet, the 2008 Nova Low-Floor buses – built in Saint-Eustache – emit only one-sixtieth the pollution, equal to a reduction of 96% to 98%.

October 14, 2008
Concordia President Judith Woodsworth welcomes to Concordia former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, Chinese Ambassador Lan Lijun and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay for a ceremony to unveil the newly restored statue of Norman Bethune.

May 8, 2008
Heads of Engineering by photographer Geraldo Pace is unveiled. The series of five dramatic photos is a perfect fit for the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Atrium as it embodies the inherent overlapping creativity of engineering and fine arts.

March 6, 2008
The City of Montreal announces an investment of $22 million for the revitalization of De Maisonneuve Blvd. The investment includes $3 million for Place Norman Bethune; Quartier Concordia's central public space that will eventually be located between MacKay and Guy streets.

September, 2007
Construction begins on extension of the two-lane bike path through Quartier Concordia along De Maisonneuve Blvd.

September 21, 2006
The Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building's Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery and Sculpture Court open. Both an exhibition and research space, the FOFA Gallery mandate is "to showcase the work of faculty, students, staff and alumni of Fine Arts in many forms," says director Lynn Beavis.

May 23, 2006
Nick Tedeschi, founder of Montreal art gallery the Parisian Laundry, contributes an endowment to fund Studio Arts fellowships for master's students in painting, drawing or sculpture. Tedeschi also donates the massive bronze sculpture Trans-Earth by Yves Trudeau to be displayed in the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building next to the FOFA Gallery.

May, 2006
A restored lintel from the house of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of 36 fathers of the Canadian Confederation, is mounted in the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building atrium (shortly thereafter named the Abe and Harriet Gold Atrium). McGee's home, renowned for its stone supports featuring carved shamrocks, stood on the south side of Ste. Catherine Street near Drummond until destroyed in a 1962 fire.

December, 2005
Concordia Magazine details the plans for Quartier Concordia in their article, "Concrete Campus No More."

November 24, 2005
Patrons of the arts Diane and Salvatore Guerrera donate the painting Imaginary Portrait of 24 Universal Geniuses of Today by Catalan artist Jesús Carles de Vilallonga. The work is placed in an Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building auditorium.

September, 2005
The Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex – known as the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building – opens. The 17-storey state-of-the-art edifice is seen as a major milestone in the revitalization of Montreal's western downtown area.

May 18, 2005
Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA) commissions artist Holly King to create the work Seascape and the Sublime to celebrate its 15th anniversary. The 4.1 x 3.5 metre meditative piece is installed on the Metro level of the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building.

May 10, 2005
TD Canada Trust donates to Concordia their historical building at the corner of Guy and Ste. Catherine. "[…] We’re pleased this gift will promote continuing education, as well as Concordia’s vision to expand and revitalize this neighborhood,” says Christine Marchildon, Senior Vice President TD Canada Trust.

April 21, 2005
Three restored historic murals are revealed. The art deco works by Kenneth Hensley Holmden originally adorning the walls of the York Theatre at the corner of Guy and Ste. Catherine streets since its opening in 1928 until 1998 are placed in an auditorium in the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building, located where the York stood for 70 years.

November 24, 2004
The Concordia chapter of the Planners Network holds a public forum to discuss the future of the Quartier Concordia project; more than 100 people attend. “We’re marking our place in the city,” says Department of Geography, Planning and Environment Professor John Zacharias, moderator of the event.

September 28, 2004
The 6 000-foot mural Untitled by Nicolas Baier et Cabinet Braun-Braen is unveiled on the east-facing façade of the Engineering and Computer Science, Visual Arts Building (to open in September, 2005). It is the largest mural in the history of the provincial government's program to integrate arts into architecture and the environment. It is one of the first major works displayed to support Quartier Concordia's commitment to public art.

June 1, 2004
Concordia acquires the historic Grey Nuns Mother House, the home of the Sisters of Charity since 1871. "Concordia's commitment to accessibility to all ages and backgrounds forms a natural alliance with the Grey Nuns and our founder St. Marguerite d'Youville, who opened her arms to all, regardless of gender, race, or religious beliefs," says Sister Larkin, Superior General of the Order.

January 15, 2004
Architecture firm Groupe Cardinal Hardy is chosen to develop the identity of Quartier Concordia. The submission is selected for its particular concern for prioritizing the relationship between university and civic space, public art, lesiure and meeting areas, and for the ecology of the area.