Georges-Vanier station will be closed completely from June 2 to September 5, 2008, for major renovation work. Trains will pass through the station without stopping. A shuttle bus service will link Georges-Vanier station to Lionel-Groulx and Lucien-L'Allier stations. For more information: STM

ARCHITECT Pierre-W. Major  ARTIST Michel Dernuet, Claude Théberge, and Antoine D. Lamarche  OPENING DATE 28 April 1980

A stylish and good-looking station, Georges-Vanier's design favours oblique rather than perpendicular angles to add visual interest to the space. The main colour scheme consists of dark grey and rich blue bricks at the platform level, as well as in the upper levels where they interrupt the pale grey of the ridged concrete walls. The cool, precise forms and colours complement the postmodern feeling of the station's forms.

The central volume is a curious irregular shape, as is the bridge over the rails. The latter has a large triangular waiting area at one end, and leads to staircases jutting out at odd angles and turning corners. The bridge and staircases offer a variety of viewpoints upon the striking architecture.

The unusual nature of the shapes at the platform level is reinforced on the eastern wall of the central volume, where the curve of the tunnel vault is continued down to the floor.

The central volume is also decorated with several large blue trapezoidal forms, as well as the tiled circles sprinkled throughout the station.

However, the main attraction is a large concrete sculpture entitled Un Arbre dans le parc, which rises from the platform two stories to tower over the bridge. This modern work is both decorative and functional, as each "branch" contains a light fixture.

A small glass and concrete kiosk, accompanied by a large concrete light shaft shaped like the frustum of a cone and admitting light into the center volume, top off this attractive and sophisticated station.

MATT'S RATING