The third permanent accommodation (1996)
In the early 90s, ICAO had outgrown the old building on 1000 Sherbrooke Street, at that time owed by Monit International Inc.. Staff had grown from 490 in 1970 to 595 in 1990. ICAO’s success was evidenced by the dynamic and sustained increases in the number of States adhering to its Convention after the decolonization in Africa and the collapse of the countries in East Europe; the number of States Members had grown from 119 in 1970 to 162 in 1990, whereas in the same time the number of members of the Council had been increased from 27 to 33. The 600-seat Assembly Hall could no longer accommodate all the delegates in attendance (including non-member states and observers), with the spill over forced to listen in on closed-circuit TV. The building on Sherbrooke was no longer well enough equipped to meet future needs, in terms of electronic security and print shop. Since the early 90s, the Government of Canada, as host of the Organization, perceived the needs for more suitable accommodations for ICAO.
|
|
|
Commercial cover sent to ICAO, 999 University Street, Montreal |
Initially, it might have asked if moving was the best solution to ICAO’s space problems. When ICAO moved in 1975, the total site area included an open piece of land (some 10,000 sq. ft.) on the west side of the building, which became the International Aviation Square (Place de l’Aviation Internationale) or ICAO Plaza; however leasing arrangements permitted this land to be sold in 1988 by the owner of ICAO building for the site of the Scotia Bank (a 27-floor office building), thus eliminating any possibility of expansion of ICAO’s building, and precipitating a series of environmental (e.g., air quality) and security problems for the Organization.
Owned by Westcliff Group and the Canapen Group (Canadien National), the new and current premises (a 100-million project) located at 999 University Street (at the corner of Avenue Viger Ouest) and named La Maison de l’OACI, whose unique architectural design admirably captures the dynamics of the Organization, was occupied by ICAO in October 1996 and officially inaugurated on 5 December 1996. Ken London Architects was the prime architect responsible for the base building design, while Provencher Roy Associés was responsible for the overall design of the interior space and common areas. Rented by the Government of Canada for 20 years, the new complex encompasses an area of 40,000 square metres, for 350,000 square feet of rentable space. Flanked by the flags of ICAO, Canada, and local governments, the complex is located along a prestigious gateway into Montreal and contributes immeasurably towards unifying and structuring the city’s downtown urban fabric.
Severe challenges in terms of air quality, noise, vibration, site serenity and security were presented to the engineers, as the building site is located directly over the westbound and eastbound tunnels of the Ville-Marie Expressway. A real engineering feat, the lightweight structure of the ICAO building rests on transfer beams that span the Ville-Marie underground highway, limiting the loads applied to the tunnels. The above-ground levels are composed of composite concrete slabs, supported by a steel framework. Vibration control, generated by traffic in the highway tunnels, was a major challenge for this project, particularly in order to meet the stringent international ISO standards for conference rooms. The building, erected above the Bonaventure/Ville-Marie highway interchange, rests on giant post-tensioned prestressed concrete beams.
Two separate steel and concrete structures, a 18-storey office tower and a 5-storey conference block, are joined by a dramatic glass-covered atrium, flying bridges and criss-crossing escalators. The result is a delicate balance of transparency and continuity, in a classic yet modern environment. Limestone and precast concrete represent the strength of the Organization, while back-painted textured glass permits natural lighting to wash the walls with a delicate filtering effect.
More information on the ICAO Building can be obtained by clicking on the following link: ICAO Launches Headquarters, excerpt from the First Choice Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 2, Winter 1996-1997.
On 29 February 2008, a plaque was unveiled in the lobby of ICAO
Headquarters to officially recognize the LEED-EB Gold certification of La
Maison de l’OACI, the head office of the International Civil Aviation
Organization located downtown in Montréal. This was the first time for an
existing building in Canada and a premise of the United Nations family to
receive this distinction. The LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy and environmental
Design for Existing Buildings) Gold certification is awarded by the US Green Building
Council (USGBC). The prestigious building thus meets the standards of the Gold
classification, which is recognized internationally as the benchmark in
property management and construction in terms of both energy efficiency and
environmental responsibility. As manager and co-owner (with The Canapen Group),
The Wescliff Group has demonstrated its commitment to take a leadership
position in finding property management solutions that not only optimize energy
efficiency, decrease resource consumption, and reduce waste but also increase
occupant health and well-being. The work for certification began in 2066 with a
strategic study commissioned by Public Works and Government Services Canada
(PWGSC), the tenant of La Maison de l’OACI; it represented a significant
challenge and several modifications were made to the building in terms of
lighting, plumbing, ventilation, water use, recycling, maintenance processes
and methods, and operations. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) established
benchmarks for the LEED Green Building Rating System in 2000.
It is also worth noting that this was the second major recognition earned by La Maison de l’OACI; at BOMEX® 2000, the building won the Office Building of the Year Award from BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association), at both the provincial and national levels. La Maison de l’OACI has also been ISO 9001 certified since 1998.
On the opening day of the 38th Session of the Assembly (held in Montréal from 24 September to 4 October 2013), the Interim Major of Montréal announced that the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) responded favourably to the City of Montreal's request by accepting a change of identification of the Square-Victoria metro station, so that there would be a reference to ICAO on the banners identifying this metro station serving the International Quarter. The Mayor of Montreal wished to make a gesture to ICAO, to show his gratitude and pride in welcoming the Organization to Montréal.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the Board of Directors of the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) on 2 April 2014, the name of the metro station Square-Victoria was changed to Square-Victoria-OACI. Due to the presence of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Montréal has become a major hub of civil aviation, a highly significant status for a metropolis with a well-developed industry.
To mark the beginning of Montréal activities surrounding the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Chicago Convention and the establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the City of Montréal and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announced on 14 November 2014 the official renaming of Metro Station Square-Victoria to Metro Station Square-Victoria-OACI by a commemorative plaque (unveiled during the ceremony), which would mark the importance of ICAO’s presence in Montréal; this plaque is now displayed inside the station, right after passing the turnstiles.
At the meeting of 15 September 2014, the City Council of Montréal adopted a resolution to rename Boulevard Robert-Bourassa the section of Rue University between Notre-Dame West and Sherbrooke West, to pay tribute to Robert Bourassa, Premier of Québec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. The resolution took effect six months later, on 15 March 2015. The Rue University name change is effective as of that date and accordingly, ICAO’s headquarters are now located at 999 Boulevard Robert-Bourassa.
The headquarters of ICAO in Montréal are not simply office buildings or conference centres. If they are to symbolize the Organization they house, they must also have some of the qualities of a museum. ICAO has gradually acquired outstanding works of art. The Guided Tour of ICAO Art Collection as shown by the following link (The ICAO Art Collection) reveals a remarkable collection of art and artefacts donated or loaned by the Organization’s Contracting States and displayed in the building as of 2002. It is to be noted that some the artefacts have been moved to the ICAO Museum further to its opening in 2014, resulting in the reorganization of some others.
A new Supplementary Headquarters Agreement was signed on 28 May 1999 in order to reflect the relocation of the Organization’s Headquarters to a new location on 999 Robert-Bourassa, in force from 28 May 1999 with effect from 1 November 1996. It replaced the Supplementary Headquarters Agreement signed on 12 and 16 September 1980 and shall remain in force for a period of 20 years and one month, until 30 November 2016.
At the tenth meeting of its 198th Session, the Council endorsed the Draft Supplementary Agreement Between the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Government of Canada Regarding the Headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization and authorized the Secretary General to sign the Supplementary Agreement on behalf of ICAO. On 27 May 2013, ICAO and Canada signed the new Supplementary Agreement which will come into force at the end of 2016, for the duration of 20 years, i.e., until the end of November 2036.
Due to the fact that ICAO has its headquarters in Montreal, a special Understanding between the Government of Quebec and ICAO was signed on 20 May 1994. Its 37 Articles deal with exemptions and courtesy privileges extended to the Organization, to Member States and to members of a representation to the Organization.
On 8 September 2017, the presence of Minister Martin Coiteux, local artist Michel de Broin and Dr. Fang Liu, ICAO’s Secretary General, the mayor of Montreal, Mr. Denis Coderre, proceeded at the inauguration of the public art work Dendrites and the Place de l'Aviation civile internationale. The work of Michel de Broin, which is integrated into the new square, contributes to the quality of this brand-new entrance to the city, a worthy entrance to the beautiful metropolis, which is a showcase for Montreal's creativity. The Bonaventure project is a legacy for all Montrealers as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary.
“Aviation is the essential foundation of global connectivity, which enables cities, producers and economies to build more sustainable futures, full of hope and opportunity. This new Place de l'Aviation civile internationale is a very natural tribute to Montreal's status in the world of aviation, and the Dendrites sculpture, chosen to help underline this prestige, very appropriately encourages us to esteem and appreciate this unique blue sky that connects us all,” said Dr. Fang Liu.
On one hand, like many of the artist’s previous works, Dendrites repurpose functional elements (stairs and platforms) in a highly frequented and traffic intensive public space. For example, the repurposing of an urban structure (the stairs), which is normally designed to facilitate and guide pedestrian flow through public space, here becomes the vector for an inoperativeness in which the viewer is invited to take a step back from the frantic, nervous rhythms of the city and reflect on or simply admire the complex urban system looming and pulsating all around him or her. On the other hand, the sculpture functions on a sustained symbolic register via its multileveled referencing, ranging from dendrites and their function of receiving incoming electrochemical impulses, to tree-like forms contrasted with the surrounding urban space, and to the notion of traffic flows traversing the cityscape and so on. More specifically, the sculptural installation modifies this pivotal passage point (signalling the end of the Bonaventure expressway and indicating one’s entry into Montréal) by providing a visual attractor that detracts from, and somewhat mitigates, the unattractiveness of the concrete behemoth, just behind it on the northwest side, that is the self-enclosed Brutalist-style Place Bonaventure building.
|
|
|
Certificate related to the inauguration of the new Headquarters premises on 5 December 1996.
|
|
|
|
Cover commemorating the inauguration of the new Headquarters premises on 5 December 1996.
|
|
|
|
Excerpt from the Linn’s Stamp News dated 3 February 1997, page 45.
|
|
|
|
Excerpt from Philatélie Québec, April-May 1997, No. 209, page 38.
|
|
The ceremony announcing that the Square-Victoria metro station would be renamed to include the Organization’s name, on the opening day of the 38th Session of ICAO Assembly on 24 September 2013. Shown above are (from left to right): the Interim Mayor of Montréal, Mr. Laurent Blanchard; the Prime Minister of Québec, Mrs. Pauline Marois; the President of the ICAO Council, Mr. Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez; the Secretary General of ICAO, Mr. Raymond Benjamin; the President of the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), Mr. Michel Labrecque.
|
|
|
|
2014 – Renaming of the Metro Station Square-Victoria-OACI (before and after).
|
|
|
|
Official unveiling of the plaque renaming the Metro Station Square-Victoria-OACI on 14 November 2014 (at the City Hall of Montréal). Shown above during the ceremony are (from left to right): the President of the Council of the City of Montréal Mr. Frantz Benjamin; the Minister of International Relations and of the Francophonie of Québec, Mrs. Christine St-Pierre; the Secretary General of ICAO, Mr. Raymond Benjamin; the Mayor of Montréal, Mr. Denis Coderre; the President of the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), Mr. Philippe Schnobb; Canadian Senator Mr. Leo Housakos; the President of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu.
|
|
|
|
Street name signs at the corner of Boulevard Robert-Bourassa (previously Rue University) and Avenue Viger Ouest), Montréal.
|
|
|
|
La Maison de l’OACI – Photo: Graham Hughes, La Presse Canadienne.
|
|
|
|
Main entrance to La Maison de l’OACI at 999 Boulevard Robert-Bourassa.
|
|
|
|
ICAO Emblem at the entrance to the present headquarters, 999 Boulevard Robert-Bourassa.
|
|
|
|
Pictures (Photo Credit: Bernard Pelsser, 2017) showing ICAO Headquarters.
|
|
|
|
Plaque unveiled on 29 February 2008, in ICAO’s lobby, for the LEED GOLD 2001 certification of La Maison de l’OACI by the US Green Building Council.
|
|
|
|
Cover sent from Kenya to ICAO at 999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard. It is interesting to note that, from the pictures providing detailed views, the postmark is dated 27 December 2019 (27.12.2019) instead of 27 November 2019, as ICAO’s receiving stamp is dated 5 December 2019 (DEC 05 2019).
|
|
|
|
Back of service cover used by ICAO for outgoing mail: 999 University Street.
|
|
|
|
Back of service cover used by ICAO for outgoing mail: 999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard.
|
|
|
|
Special landscaping done in front of the ICAO Conference Center (2019). The artwork by Marcelle Ferron The Lark Mirror can be seen in the foreground. This tree-dimensional, metal and glass work of art was donated by the Government of Québec, Canada in 1976 and renovated in 1996 when the ICAO Headquarters moved to the new building.
|
|
|
|
View of ICAO Headquarters at left of this picture. Photo Credit: Canada Destinations.
|
|
|
|
Picture taken in 2023 with a view on the entrance to the train (and the REM -Réseau Express Métropolitain-) rails at Montreal’s Central Station. This downtown view shows ICAO building colorfully illuminated at night. Photo Credit: Bernard Pelsser.
|
|
|
|
Place de l’Aviation civile internationale and the Dendrites artwork. ICAO’s clear-grey building can be seen at the right on the left picture. Photo Credit: Michel de Broin. |
_________________________