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  1. Eau : les usines de Dorval et Lachine seront fermées SARAH DAOUST-BRAUN Mardi, 30 janvier 2018 12:53MISE à JOUR Mardi, 30 janvier 2018 12:53 Montréal fermera les usines d’eau potable de Dorval et de Lachine pour économiser sur les coûts d’entretien et de maintien des deux installations jugées vétustes. Les deux usines, qui fournissent moins de 5 % de l’eau aux Montréalais, seront fermées dans dix ans. Il s’agit des deux plus petites usines des six que possède Montréal. Après la fermeture, le réseau de Lachine sera alors raccordé au réseau de l’usine Atwater et de Charles-Desbaillets, et celui de Dorval à l’usine de Pointe-Claire. D’ici ce temps, la Ville investira 235 millions de dollars pour construire 23 km de conduites principales pour le raccordement du réseau des deux secteurs au reste de la métropole. Le responsable des infrastructures de l’eau au comité exécutif, Sylvain Ouellet, jugeait qu’il était plus risqué financièrement de rénover complètement les deux usines que de les démanteler, une option qui permettra d’économiser 5 M$ par année selon lui. Le projet était à l’étude depuis deux ans sous l’ancienne administration de Denis Coderre et a été approuvé par la nouvelle administration à la suite des élections. La mairesse de Lachine, Maja Vodanovic, s’est réjouie de l’annonce, soulignant que le démantèlement de son usine permettra de régler le problème d’arrière-goût de l’eau dans son arrondissement, alimenté par les rapides de Lachine. Elle espère que le terrain de l’usine accueillera à terme le terminal de la future ligne rose du métro, promise en campagne électorale par Projet Montréal. http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/01/30/eau--les-usines-de-dorval-et-lachine-seront-fermees
  2. via Blouin Art Info : 10 Must-See Warped Public Art Sculptures in Montreal BY Low Lai Chow | March 28, 2016 If cities were people, Montreal would be the rebellious, off-kilter kid who steals all the thunder at a party. Basking in diversity as the lively cultural capital of Canada (Ottawa is Canada's actual capital city, FYI), Montreal has a social calendar that is perpetually packed with events and festivals. Rule of thumb: if there is a party in town, know that there are a hundred more you haven't heard about. With over 315 public artworks in the municipal collection, Montreal also has some incredible public sculptures around town, from parks to libraries. Culture+Travel picks out ten of the most warped public art to seek out in the City of Festivals. See pictures of the artworks here. - Révolutions (2003), Michel de Broin | Rifting on the impossible, Montreal-based sculptor de Broin takes visual inspiration from the ubiquitous outdoor staircases seen throughout the city for this loopy 8.5-meter high Moebius strip out of aluminum and galvanized steel. The artist has said of the enigmatic work, “The staircase makes us think of what returns without repeating, transformed in its cycle. We can all project ourselves into this curved space and enter the game of revolutions.” In short, this work is infinity in poetry. Where: Parc Maisonneuve-Cartier, behind Metro Papineau metro station in Ville-Marie - Le Malheureux Magnifique (1972), Pierre Yves Angers | Cement-covered and huddled over in a humanistic form, Yves Angers' 1972 sculpture is a landmark that marks the entrance of Montreal’s bustling Latin Quarter. First installed in Place Pasteur in 1973, it was moved to the front of Alcide-Chaussée Building in 1991. Angers is said to have been inspired by the works of Rodin; his accompanying art says, "À ceux qui regardent à l'intérieur d'eux-mêmes et franchissent ainsi les frontières du visible” (French for 'To those who look inside themselves and thus cross over the borders of the visible'). Where: 385, Rue Sherbrooke Est, at the intersection of Sherbrooke and Saint-Denis streets in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal - Theatre for Sky Blocks (1992), Linda Covit | Installed on the shore of Lake Saint-Louis, Covit's minimalist work dwells on the environment. It was first exhibited in 1992 at the first Salon international de la sculpture extérieure. With the water and the sky in the background, three monolithic steel columns have a photograph of clouds silk screened on them. It all begs the questions: What is real? What is fictitious? Where: Parc Fort-Rolland in Lachine - Anamorphose D'Une Fenetre, Claude Lamarche | From afar, Claude Lamarche's artwork resembles colorful scribbles that seem to have leapt off the tip of a pen to interact with the exteriors of the Maison de la culture Mercier building in real life. A red arrow-shaped sculpture points at the upper left-hand corner of the wall while a blue arrow twirls one corner of it. A yellow window frame hangs on one wall, while steel rods and tubes prop up the sides. Where: 8105, Rue Hochelaga, at Maison de la culture Mercier in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve - Monica (1985), Jules Lasalle | Evoking the gigantic head sculptures of Easter Island and excavated archaeological remains, sculptor and modeller Jules Lasalle's larger-than-life 3D portrait of a woman with a smile on her face is deliberately fragmented, denoting the passing of time. Lasalle created the artwork in 1985 at the first Lachine, Carrefour de l’Art et de l’Industrie sculpture symposium. Where: Promenade Père-Marquette in Lachine - From A (1986), Takera Narita | Comprising three parts of a granite and mortar fluted column to reference ancient Greek civilization, this unusual ruins-like sculpture by the late Japanese artist Takera Narita appears to pop up from the ground and sink back into it. It alludes to the cycle of history, with the title hinting at a path between two points as a mathematical formula. Narita created the work for the second Lachine sculpture symposium L’an II – Lachine, carrefour de l’art et de l’industrie in 1986. Where: Parc René-Lévesque in Lachine - La vélocité des lieux (2015), BGL | Completed in 2015 in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Henri-Bourassa–Pie-IX intersection in Montréal-Nord borough is this work by Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère, and Nicolas Laverdière of Québec collective BGL. It comprises five bus-like forms on eight steel columns. Denoting the ebbs and flow of human activity and community, the cheerful 19-meter high sculpture looks like a Ferris wheel right out of an amusement park in frenzied motion. In reality, this static artwork doesn't actually move. BGL also recently represented Canada at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. Where: Carrefour Henri-Bourassa–Pie-IX in Montréal-Nord - Le Mélomane (2011), Cooke-Sasseville | Based in Québec City, the creative duo of Jean-François Cooke and Pierre Sasseville has a taste for the absurd. Evidence? This cheeeky bronze sculpture shows an ostrich sticking its head into a gramophone horn, illustrating the stronghold of music and new realities. Where: Parc François-Perrault in Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension - Site/Interlude (1994), David Moore | Shaped like gigantic legs, five steel wire structures filled with large stones stand starkly, deliberately spread out to coerce viewers to walk from one to the next so as to see the full work. Dublin-born and Montréal-based artist David Moore took inspiration from seeing how the legs and feet were often the only vestiges left standing from the ancient statues of Greece's archaeological sites. First displayed in Montréal's Old Port, Moore's work is a reflection on the passage of time and on progress. Where: Parc René-Lévesque in Lachine. - Regard Sur Le Fleuve (1992), Lisette Lemieux | Situated on the shore of Lake St. Louis, Arthabaska-born artist Lisette Lemieux's large billboard-like work includes incisive cutouts of the word 'FLEUVE' (French for 'river') and the word’s reflection in water, so that actual river water appear to fill up the cutout parts. Both a wall that obstructs the river view, as well as announces its existence, the work urges viewers to rediscover the river. Where: Parc Stoney-Point in Lachine
  3. Alors vos réponse aux 6 questions ? Source, The Gazette the hochelaga archipelago, a montreal islands trivia quiz By Andy Riga 07-06-2009 COMMENTS(0) Metropolitan News Filed under: Montreal, ferries, waterways, hochelaga archipelago, boucherville islands, montreal archipelago, Parc national des Îles-de-Boucherville, st. lawrence river, boat tours, iles de boucherville I can’t swim. Even in a pool, I panic when I momentarily can’t feel solid ground under my feet. Yet, I love being on the water, especially the St. Lawrence River. Over the past couple of weeks, I spent time on a touristy Old Port cruise ship and on the east end Montreal/Boucherville islands bicycle/pedestrian ferry (seen in the above Gazette photo, taken Saturday by Peter McCabe). I was doing research for a story to be published in Saturday’s Travel section. I’ve also been researching the Hochelaga archipelego (also known as the Montreal archipelago). Fortuitously, John Woolfrey, a Montreal editor/writer/translator and Metropolitan News' unofficial Chief Triva Officer, sent me an email with some fun archipelago questions. Here they are (I’ll post the answers and sources next week): We live on an island surrounded by several islands with whom Montreal Island forms the Hochelaga Archipelago. How about some island trivia? 1) Name the main natural islands on which Expo 67 and La Ronde were built. 2) What's the original name of Nuns' Island? 3) Name the large island (245 km2)due north of Montreal. 4) Céline Dion built a mansion on what island she owns in the Mille-Îles River? 5) Name the island that's home to North America's oldest golf club. 6) Name the island that is also the smallest municipality in Canada, with only two permanent residents. Good luck! Speaking of water, below are photos I took on my June 24 trip to the Parc national des Îles-de-Boucherville in the middle of the St. Lawrence. (Voir la source)
  4. Transport Quebec blames Montreal for L'Acadie Circle flood Rain caused service road to fill up Sunday night By Max Harrold The Gazette July 27, 2009 Flooding at L'Acadie Circle in Montreal lifted sewer covers, causing serious damage to vehicles. Photograph by: Minas Panagiotakis, Special to The Gazette MONTREAL - Dumping all responsibility for flooding Sunday night in l’Acadie Circle squarely into the city of Montreal’s lap, Transport Quebec said Monday it has taken precautions while the city has not. “That’s why we didn’t have any flooding on the section of Highway 40 that dips (in l’Acadie Circle),” Transport Quebec spokesperson Réal Grégoire said. But a section of the 40’s eastbound service road – on city of Montreal territory – in the circle did fill up like a canal late Sunday, forcing the closing of the road from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. At least three cars were stranded in what has become a regular occurrence when there are heavy rains. Grégoire said Transport Quebec learned its lesson after flooding closed a section of the 40 in 2005, a year after the completion of $110 million in repairs to the traffic circle. Since then, Transport Quebec has sealed the holes in manhole covers and installed trap doors on sewers on that section of highway to prevent flooding, he said. While the highway is raised slightly higher than the service road, water did not spill down and contribute to the flooding, he said. In no way did the 2004 repairs contribute to the floods, he added. “We take care of our network. What the city does with their network is up to them.” Grégoire said the flooding was most likely because of a lack of capacity in the Meilleur-Atlantique collector – an oversize drain pipe built by the city in the l’Acadie Blvd./Metropolitan Blvd. area in 1950. But Saeed Mirza, a McGill University professor of structural engineering, said the province and the city must share the blame since the highway’s drainage feeds into the city’s underground water system. “Anyone designing this exchange should have planned for this,” Mirza said. “When this happens, it’s proof that they did not do it properly.” Sammy Forcillo, vice-chairman of the city of Montreal’s executive committee and responsible for the city’s water and road infrastructure, blamed Sunday’s flooding only on “an exceptional amount of rainfall.” One-third of the normal amount of rain for the month of July fell in that part of the city that night, he said. “I can’t control the heavens.” The city is spending a lot this year – $350 million – on the water network. However, Forcillo could not say what improvements, if any, have been made at l’Acadie Circle. The city is waiting for a response to a request for federal funding to do more, he said. mharrold@thegazette.canwest.com © Copyright © The Montreal Gazette http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Montreal+blame+Acadie+Circle+flood+Transport+Quebec/1834498/story.html
  5. http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2015/03/23/thai-grill-closing-its-doors-and-suing-city
  6. As beginning January first 2016. B.C. government will charge industries 2.25$ for each millions of liters of water there are using. That's ridiculous. http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/06/outrage-boils-over-as-b-c-government-plans-to-sell-groundwater-for-2-25-per-million-litres/
  7. Voici un projet fort intéressant... qui pourrait peut-être s'appliquer pour notre fleuve. Vous savez, il y a deux options pour le l'environnement et le design : High design/Low tech Vs. Low Design/High tech.... je prèfère de loin la première! Oyster-tecture: Scape Studio Plans to Build a Park Filled with Millions of Oysters to Clean the Gowanus Canal NYC has some great oyster bars, but its most in-demand shellfish yet may soon be coming to the Gowanus Canal instead of to your favorite seafood restaurant. Scape Studio has received funding for its ambitious Oyster-tecture project – an oyster park for millions of mollusks at the mouth of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. Oysters have the unique ability to ‘eat’ toxins and dirt, so the new park could be just the way to clean up what is currently one of the nation’s most polluted waterways. “We propose to nurture an active oyster culture that engages issues of water quality, rising tides, and community based development around Brooklyn’s Red Hook and Gowanus Canal,” explains Kate Orff of Scape Architecture on their website. ”An armature for the growth of native oysters and marine life is designed for the shallow waters of the Bay Ridge Flats just south of Red Hook. This living reef is constructed from a field of piles and a woven web of “fuzzy rope” that supports oyster growth and builds a rich three-dimensional landscape mosaic. A watery regional park for the New York Harbor emerges that prefigures the city’s return to the waterfront in the next century. The reef attenuates waves and cleans millions of gallons of Harbor water through harnessing the biotic processes of oysters, mussels and eelgrass, and enables neighborhood fabrics that welcome the water to develop further inland.” This ‘oyster-tecture’ has been described as a 21st-century approach to creating new waterfront infrastructures where long-gone shellfish can be brought back. Construction has already begun on the new pier area that is to host Orff’s reef. In fact, oysters are one of nature’s best cleaners as they have the ability to filter 50 gallons of water a day! Oysters were once plentiful in the waters around New York, but died out by the turn of the 19th century due to industrial waste, sewage, diseases and the dredging of the harbor to make room for shipping and development. Now, marine scientists believe that new beds of oysters could break down pollution in areas where the water temperature, currents, chemistry and other conditions are right. Of course, due to their ‘cleaning’ of toxins, these oysters will never be eaten and any poachers aiming to harvest them for profit will be prosecuted. http://inhabitat.com/nyc/oyster-tecture-scape-studio-plans-to-build-a-park-filled-with-millions-of-oysters-to-clean-the-gowanus-canal/
  8. C'est peut-être le temps de déclarer la rue Sainte-Catherine piétonne sur toute sa longueur... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/story/2013/08/05/montreal-sink-hole-ste-catherine.html Emergency crews are on the scene after a sinkhole opened up in downtown Montreal and swallowed a backhoe. It happened at about 9 a.m. ET at the intersection of Guy and St-Catherine streets. The hole is about eight metres long and five meters across. A section of St-Catherine Street has been closed to traffic. A city official said they received a call about a water leak at the scene on the weekend. Crews arrived this morning to do repairs and that's when the road gave way. "We think that the water leak was because of the sewer pipe. . .it's broken sewer pipe," said Emilie Miskdjian a spokeswoman for the Ville Marie borough. "That's what we think, but we will have to do an inspection to determine the cause." The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution. Engineers and representatives from the CSST, Quebec's workplace health and safety board, are now at the scene to determine the best way to remove the vehicle from the hole.
  9. Shows you where the money is going these days. Great looking skyscraper! Article on FP: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/07/04/telus-to-build-400-million-tower-in-calgarys-downtown/?__lsa=e9e9-144b
  10. http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr#city-rankings Montréal figure assez bien pour les infrastructures en 13e position, et devant Toronto. Les infrastructures sont definis comme tel: 'electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports'.
  11. The title about sums it up http://mynews.ctv.ca/mediadetail/4587115?collection=602&q=+&offset=1&siteT=montreal
  12. I'm not sure if this is "urban tech", in that it probably isn't something that's applicable in a variety of scenarios, nor if it has already been talked about on this site, but regardless, i still think it's worth mentioning. -------------------- Solar City Tower for Rio Olympics is a Giant Energy Generating Waterfall by Bridgette Meinhold, 03/19/10 This renewable energy generating tower located on the coast of Rio is one of the first buildings we’ve seen designed for the 2016 Rio Olympics, and boy, is it crazy! (In case you didn’t notice, it’s also a waterfall.) The Solar City Tower is designed by Zurich-based RAFAA Architecture & Design, and features a large solar system to generate power during the day and a pumped water storage system to generate power at night. RAFAA’s goal is that a symbolic tower such as this can serve as a starting point for a global green movement and help make the 2016 Olympic Games more sustainable. The self-sustaining tower for the 2016 Olympic Games is designed to create renewable energy for use in the Olympic Village as well as the city of Rio. A large solar power plant generates energy during the day. Any excess power not used during the day is utilized to pump seawater into a storage tank within the tower. At night, the water is released to power turbines, which will provide nighttime power for the city. On special occasions water is pumped out to create a waterfall over the edges of the building, which RAFAA says will be, “a symbol for the forces of nature.” Info on the size of the solar and pumped water storage system is not available yet. Access to the eco tower is gained through an urban plaza and amphitheater 60 meters above sea level, which can be used for social gatherings. On the ocean side of the 105 meter tower (behind the waterfall) is a cafeteria and shop. An elevator takes visitors up to the top floor where an observation deck offers 360 views of the ocean and city. At level 90.5, a bungee platform is available for adventurous visitors. Link to article: http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/19/solar-city-tower-for-rio-olympics-giant-energy-generating-waterfall/ -------------------- if for nothing else, the renderings look kinda cool. wonder if you could have such a waterfall flowing off our own olympic tower ? or would that risk to bring in even more toilet jokes ? .. ..
  13. Sure we've seen glorified dehumidifiers like this before, but we're a sucker for any aquatic wonder which claims to solve the world's drinking water shortage. The exterior wall-mounted Watermill from Element Four is the latest "water from thin air" contraption and produces up to 3.2 gallons of water a day, pumped through a trusty ultraviolet sterilizer. But more importantly, it offers to hydrate your family of 6 (according to EF) for a mere thirty-five cents a day in power, not including whatever price Element Four decides to sell it for. Or you could just stick a bucket on your roof and be done with it -- we hear it rains occasionally. http://www.gadgetreview.com/2008/09/the-watermill-converts-humid-air-to-drinkable-water.html
  14. Infinity pool 55 storeys up. EAT your heart out Article Someone please pitch this to the City of Montreal to allow developers to build to the sky is the limit or at least turn the tower at the olympic stadium into a huge water slide lol
  15. MONTREAL'S FIRST 100% GREEN CONDO AND TOWNHOUSE PROJECT Overview Located minutes from Montreal’s downtown core and the historic Atwater Market, Maison Productive House (MpH) is a contemporary, green living project that offers a contemporary architecture that makes sustainable urban living bountiful and verdant. At Maison Productive House empowers consumers to live intelligently. Maison Productive House offers you two housing choices to meet you specific needs, Condo and Townhouse. Each unity offers a contemporary and green design that is both rich in space and refined in its architecture. MpH residences offer a privileged, refined living environment, which is refined and avant-garde. MpH perpetuates the exceptional architectural style with the most advanced Green (sustainable living) elements. MpH is Montreal’s first ecological design that seeks carbon-neutrality and addresses various productive aspects of a responsible lifestyle: alternative energy, food garden, active transportation, more personal productivity and leisure time. Here are some of the design principles that inspired the vision for the MpH Its walking distance from Charlevoix metro station Amenities MpH is very green. Its infrastructure can contribute to the environment instead of being as drain upon it. Maison Productive House seeks a LEED® Platinum certification and follows zero-emission development (ZED) design principles. What is unique about the MpH project is that it is Novoclimat® certified, uses Solar Panel and Geo-thermal energy; includes EnergyStar® appliances, dual-flush toilets and radiant heated floors. Additional examples of this unique project include: Onsite garden Custom-built doors kitchens and stairways using FSC or reclaimed wood or bottles No use of VOC products in lacquers, and natural fibers wherever possible (insulation, wall structure). Social and productive spaces, mixing ecological and social functions, such as: its year-round greenhouse, sauna, meditation room, and laundry room recovering grey waters and balcony. The sauna is strategically placed to allow for voluntary heat loss that directly will benefit the otherwise passively heated (solar) greenhouse. The greenhouse is supplied with recouped rainwater and filtered gray water for irrigation. Other amenities include: - Attention to linkages between outdoor and indoor spaces with the innovation of SunSpaces and ample roof, garden and balcony spaces for social interaction and growing. - Artisan bakery integrated into the residential development - Creation of possible income-streams to owners through rental spaces - Proximity to public transportation and the provision of a shared car service - Both inside and outside the greenhouse, the roof is maximized for growing vegetables. Cold-frames are integrated in the roof balustrade with seasonal covers to extend the growing season. - This social gathering area will have all the amenities for Bar-B-Qs, sun-bathing and gardening. - The Sauna uses an electrically-powered design which utilizes pine wood and is large enough for 4-6 people. - In addition to the roof greenhouse, every owner has their own private plot for growing fruits and vegetables in the garden as well as access to a fruit orchard and a herbal garden. - Water filtration systems: Units 2,4 and laundry room have recycled gray waters. Also personal units are supplied with carbon filters in the kitchen counters to provide the cleanest possible drinking water. backview They say they have 55% sold. It seems like they have 3-4 condos [only 1 left] (each are 3.5 equalling 809 sq.ft) and there is 4 townhouses [only 2 left] PDF File
  16. Quebec could make $9.5B a year selling water to U.S.: report By NINA LEX, ReutersJuly 16, 2009 3:50 PM Quebec could raise as much as $9.5 billion a year by reversing the flow of three northern rivers to generate power and export water to the United States, according to a report made public yesterday. The Montreal Economic Institute said Quebec could divert floodwaters from the three rivers in the spring, pumping the excess water higher, and then letting it flow south through the Ottawa River to the St. Lawrence. The rivers - the Broadback, Waswanipi and Bell - currently flow into James Bay and then into Hudson Bay. The report said that diverting the floodwater from north to south would boost levels on the St. Lawrence River and let U.S. and Canadian authorities increase their use of freshwater from the Great Lakes without any risk to St. Lawrence - a major international seaway. "The revenue generated by exporting freshwater would be the result of complex negotiations between state, provincial and federal governments," said the report, compiled by former hydroelectric power engineer Pierre Gingras. "Whatever the outcome of negotiations, and given the probable increase in the value of water in the coming years, this revenue from the sale of water would contribute significantly to the financial health of the Quebec government and the general prosperity of Quebecers." The idea of bulk water exports from Canada has always been controversial, for political, environmental and security reasons. But Gingras said the scheme could net the province about $7.5 billion a year - assuming that the extra water supplied some 150 million people who paid a "very reasonable" $50 a year for the water. The project, which Gingras calls Northern Waters, would also build 25 hydroelectric plants and dams along the Ottawa River, generating electricity worth $2 billion a year. He put the cost of the project at $15 billion and said it could be completed by 2022. "It should be a very profitable project for Quebec," he said. But environmental group Great Lakes United said a project like Northern Waters could be devastating to the environment. "The seasonal runoff is not surplus water. The rising and lowering of the rivers and lakes is critical to protecting the marsh which is home to so much wildlife," program director John Jackson said. He said the project was contrary to legislation that forbids the bulk export of Canadian water from any of the five major basins, including the Hudson Bay Basin. "There would be huge legal fights. There is no way you could win those battles," Jackson said. The report - available at http://www.iedm.org - said the environmental impact would be relatively small because the project would only capture "seasonal surplus waters." © Copyright © The Montreal Gazette
  17. Surfing a River When the Wave Doesn’t Move Source: nytimes TO the uninitiated, the scene on a recent morning along the St. Lawrence River in Montreal might have inspired confusion. Behind the striking modular apartment complex known as Habitat 67, a crowd of surfers slipped into wet suits and waxed up their boards, 500 miles from the nearest ocean beach. They were preparing to surf a standing river wave in the St. Lawrence, where high-velocity water roars over a steep river-bottom depression, pitches back and upward, and creates a waist-to-overhead breaker. Surfers paddle into it or swing out by rope to catch the green-faced wedge, rewarded by a seemingly endless ride. “Once you’re carving, it’s exactly the same feel as on an ocean wave,” said Chris Dutton, the founder of the Web site SurfMontreal.com, “except that instead of going straight down the line, you carve a little bit, flip around, carve back, and can go all day.” Modern river surfing on standing waves evolved on the Eisbach River in Germany in the mid-1970s. Tidal bores have been ridden for years on the Severn in England; in Bordeaux, France; and on the Amazon. New standing waves are being pioneered almost daily in rivers in places like Colorado, and in Ontario and Alberta in Canada. Corran Addison, an Olympic kayaker and three-time world freestyle kayak champion, was the first to tackle the Habitat wave with a surfboard, in 2002. Mr. Addison’s river-surfing school, Imagine Surfboards, has taught 3,500 students since 2005, and has expanded to include a surf shop and board line. A second Montreal river-surfing school, KSF, has hosted 1,500 students a year since 2003. From fewer than 10 original surfers, Mr. Addison estimates the current participants to number around 500. The wave quality was low on my first day at Habitat 67, Mr. Addison, my instructor that day, explained. Instead of the usual method of getting into the wave — starting upstream and allowing the current to draw me into place — I would start downstream from the wave lying flat on the board, and use a rope to counter the river’s flow, swinging out into position, popping up into a surf stance, and then making my way into the wave. After scrambling down a steep embankment to the edge of the river, I got my first close-up look at the wave; a humplike wall of water surrounded by a torrent of rapids, with a lone surfer rocking back and forth just below the peak. The locals made the approach look fluid and easy. Of course, it wasn’t. Even with a wide, seven-foot-long “fun shape” board, all the forces — raging waters, the tension of the rope, my own weight — conspired against gaining balance and stability, and I lost the rope and was flushed down the rapids, repeatedly. Still, unlike at the ocean, where I would have faced a battering shore break and a lineup of experienced surfers anxious for the next set, all I had to do to try again was climb the riverbank and walk up the path. “In the river you’re going against the current — that dynamic itself makes it more complex,” said Costas Kanellos, a Montreal native who started river surfing in 2005 and has since taken to ocean surfing in Maine and Florida. “But having a consistent wave allows a lot of people to improve at a quicker rate than they would in the ocean.” Mr. Dutton was my instructor for my second crack at Habitat 67. First he demonstrated how to maximize the rope with body positioning: like a water skier angling far out from behind the boat, I had to remain upright to leverage the strength and weight of the torso as a counter to the force of the rope. In the water, Mr. Dutton had me start out on my knees, so I didn’t have to get up from a prone position. Despite the fatigue in my arms, I stood up, leaned with all my body weight, and carved away from the riverbank. Nearing the wave, I turned the board upstream and released the rope when I was inside the wave. A dense, solid but fluidly dynamic water surface rushed beneath my board. It was a moment of mild vertigo, depth and perspective hard to pinpoint in such an alien environment. I lasted a few fleeting seconds before washing out the back, long enough to feel the potential. When we left at 6 p.m., there was a five-person lineup forming, with a parking lot full of more surfers, off work and getting geared up. Though river surfing is in its infancy, the familiar complaints of overcrowding are already being heard. On a peak summer weekend with ideal river conditions and good weather, Mr. Addison said, the lineup can grow to 50 people. “The bad thing would be if surfing continues to grow in popularity,” he said, “and you show up in March to a 50-person lineup, never mind August.” Mr. Addison and others have turned to creating their own river waves using artificial obstacles. In 1997, he helped design a wave park in Valley Field, Quebec, now an Olympic kayak-training center. A similar whitewater park on the Arkansas River in Pueblo, Colo., has become a destination for river surfers. Mr. Addison proposes to use sunken concrete blocks to engineer four more standing waves in Montreal, at an estimated cost of 40,000 Canadian dollars each, though he has so far received little governmental or corporate support. “Ultimately,” he said, “we need more waves.” IF YOU GO Habitat 67 is at 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy in Montreal. From Autoroute Bonaventure 10, take Avenue Pierre-Dupuy north. Park in the pull-off to the right, just past the street address. Walk behind tennis courts and down a dirt path; the wave itself is easy to spot, just down the embankment. Some information is online at http://www.surfmtl.com and http://www.surfmontreal.com. SURF SCHOOLS Imagine Surfboard, (514) 583-3386; http://www.imaginesurfboards.com/eng/surfschool.html. KSF School of River Surfing and Kayaking, (514) 595-7873; http://www.ksf.ca (in French).
  18. Diagrid design completed for Ernst & Young headquarters Foster + Partners has completed a headquarters building for Ernst & Young at the gateway to the Vivaldi-park area of the new Zuidas district, south of Amsterdam. Commissioned by ING, the tower establishes a landmark on the route into the city with its diagrid façade. Ten per cent more efficient than the target Dutch environmental standards, the building also extends the public realm with a water court at its base. The 24-storey building is divided into two twelve metre-wide column free towers with open, flexible floor plates. The blocks are staggered in plan to admit as much natural light as possible and to make the most of the northerly city views. The northern façade is fully glazed, while partial thirty per cent glazing to the east, west and south limits solar gain. Combined with ground water storage to further save on energy for cooling, the overall environmental strategy is highly efficient. Linked by a shared transparent core, the offices are serviced by double-height meeting spaces and light-filled social spaces allowing communication between different floors. The structural steel diagrid is clad in silver aluminium and is offset by opaque black panels, which reduce the definition of the individual floor levels. This lattice scales the entire 87-metre high facade and gives the building its identity. At the base of the building the height of the diagrid creates a triple-storey lobby space, while at the top of each tower north and south-facing terraces are set into the structure. The towers are approached via a water-court with an ecological pond beneath an overhanging canopy. Defining the relationship between public and private, this space houses the social functions, such as staff restaurant, terrace, auditorium and bar, clustered around the water-court. Coupled with a green roof on the restaurant building, the pond has an important environmental contribution. 65 per cent of rainwater is retained on site while the run-off feeds into the Amsterdam canal system to control water levels following peak rainfall. The pond is naturally cleansed by a planted biotope of reeds, water lilies and grasses. David Nelson, Senior Executive and joint Head of Design at Foster + Partners said: “Our first building in Amsterdam not only exceeds Dutch environmental regulations by ten per cent, but provides a striking marker for the Vivaldi park area, a high quality, flexible working environment for tenants Ernst & Young and a lively public water-court with a working ecological pond at its base.” http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=2434
  19. Pavillon 8 wins AR Future Projects award This project for the former wharf area of Lyons at the junction of the Rhône and Saône is an atrium office building composed of two blocks with a public contemporary art exhibition space on its ground floor and a restaurant floating in the river beneath four dramatically cantilevered floors of offices. The restaurant’s five bubbles are made from different cladding materials, some solid some open. The judges thought this scheme had a lovely plan, bravura cantilevers and a kinetic quality which will create a special relationship between water and occupants. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10981
  20. yarabundi

    Blagues / Jokes

    Un fil dans lequel tous nous pourrons partager nos blagues. A thread in which everyone of us will be able to shares jokes with the others. Here's the first of (I hope) many : Better than a Flu Shot! Miss Beatrice, the church organist, was in her eighties and had never been married. She was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all. One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room. She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea. As he sat facing her old Hammond organ, the young minister noticed a cut-glass bowl sitting on top of it. The bowl was filled with water, and in the water floated, of all things, a condom! When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer resist .. 'Miss Beatrice', he said, 'I wonder if you would tell me about this?' pointing to the bowl. 'Oh, yes,' she replied, 'Isn't it wonderful? I was walking through the Park a few months ago and I found this little package on the ground. The directions said to place it on the organ, keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease. Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter.'
  21. Recession for Canada in 2009: UBS But fundamentals are sound, and recession should be shallow and short: Strategist Jonathan Ratner, Canwest News Service Published: 2 hours ago TORONTO - Declining GDP in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009 will bring the Canadian economy into an official recession, UBS predicted Monday. "The Canadian economy, which has been only barely above water for nearly a year, does not escape the global undertow . . ." strategist George Vasic told clients. He cited weakness in exports and sharp reductions in commodity prices as where the impact is being felt most. While domestic demand has held up, UBS expects weaker confidence will put activity on hold. 'The Canadian economy, which has been only barely above water for nearly a year, does not escape the global undertow . . .' UBS strategist George Vasic told his clients. 'The Canadian economy, which has been only barely above water for nearly a year, does not escape the global undertow . . .' UBS strategist George Vasic told his clients. But for the first time in a long time, the underpinnings of the Canadian economy are sound going into the downturn, Vasic said, highlighting historically average consumer debt service ratios and a balanced budget. ". . . It is not always the case that when the U.S. catches a cold, Canada gets pneumonia," he added, predicting that consumer sentiment should hold up better. As a result, the strategist said the economic risk is lower in Canada and there is room to take on counter-cyclical initiatives. UBS expects the bank of Canada to lower its overnight rate target from three per cent to two per cent by the end of the first quarter and sees the loonie falling to around 91US cents. Nonetheless, the Canadian economic outlook has been cut from 1.8 per cent to 0.4 per cent next year. UBS also cut its 2009 U.S. growth target from 1.2 per cent to 0.3 per cent and global growth from 2.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent. It reduced its crude oil price forecast from $120 US a barrel to $105 US and expects other commodities to be five per cent to 30 per cent below 2008 levels.
  22. CTV.ca News Staff Environment Canada confirms that a funnel cloud formed in Montreal's east end Wednesday afternoon, creating a rare tornado-like waterspout. Images of the event showed what appeared to be a twisting pillar of water rising out of the St. Lawrence River. Montreal was expected to be pounded by rain throughout the day. Environment Canada warned of winds reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour, and hail two centimetres in diametre. But despite those conditions, waterspouts are more commonly found in tropical weather. "These systems are usually formed in places like the Florida Keys because the temperatures are warmer and the water temperatures are also warm," said Martin Belanger, a meteorologist with MeteoMedia. "This one formed in Montreal, which is very rare." He added that funnel clouds which trigger waterspouts are basically a "tornado over the water," and have similar characteristics. "It looks kind of like a tornado. It's similar," he told CTV Montreal. "It has the same winds turning counterclockwise, and the wind speeds are roughly around 60 to 120 kilometres per hour. This time it was formed over water, which is why it's called a waterspout." There were no reports of damage from the waterspout.
  23. The world's big digs http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/06/19/f-big-digs.html Last Updated: Monday, June 23, 2008 | 10:26 AM ET CBC News Construction on Montreal's Honoré Mercier Bridge, billed as Canada's largest bridge repair, has a price tag of $66 million for its first phase. Work is expected to last until 2011. It's a big endeavour, to be sure. But it still pales in comparison to the scope of massive projects planned or underway around the world. Consider China's $63-billion — yes, billion — water diversion project, or Canada's own ambitious plans for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Many of these projects break new ground, figuratively as well as literally, in striving to set new world standards. They want to be tallest, widest, first or most expensive works of their kind. Here are some of the world's biggest digs, either underway or planned: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China: north-south water diversion Estimated cost: $63 billion With this massive hydro-engineering plan, China seeks to deliver water from the water-rich Yangtze River area in the south to parched regions in the country's north and west. In essence, the Chinese want to build a series of new, artificial rivers. Adopted in 2002, the ambitious plan calls for three water routes to eventually be built. Planners hope that the 1,250-km central and 1,150-km eastern routes will divert 13 billion cubic metres of water to Beijing and other northern cities by 2010. Due for completion in 2050, the western route cuts through the mountains of Tibet to reach China's arid northwestern provinces. If completed as planned, all three routes would carry a torrent of water as powerful as the flow of the Yellow River, China's second-longest waterway. The key word is "planned": Parts of the project have been delayed by technological and financial difficulties and concerns over water pollution, state media has reported. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vancouver: 2010 Olympic infrastructure Estimated cost: $2.6 billion Two major projects are transforming transportation in British Columbia's Lower Mainland in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The 80-kilometre Sea to Sky highway, from Vancouver to the resort town of Whistler, is being improved at an estimated cost of $600 million. New passing lanes are being added and some sections straightened to improve safety. The new Canada Line, meanwhile, will provide a 19.5-km rail link between Vancouver and the city's international airport in Richmond. Completion of the 16-stop line is expected in 2009 in advance of the beginning of the Games. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Panama: Panama Canal expansion Estimated cost: $5.25 billion Workers use heavy machinery at the site of the Panama Canal expansion project in Panama City on April 28, 2008. (Arnulfo Franco/Associated Press) Approved in a 2006 national referendum, this project will be the largest improvement in the historic waterway's history. The canal's locks will be widened by 17 metres to 50 metres to accommodate modern ocean-faring vessels. By the time of its expected wrap-up in 2014, officials expect the canal's shipping capacity will be doubled. That will be good news for the ships who make the 14,000 annual trips through the 82-km-long canal. The smaller waterway has forced costly queues in recent years. If finished as planned in 2014, the expansion will open at the same time as the Panama Canal's 100th anniversary. It was originally built by the Americans and French and transferred to full Panamanian control in 1999. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United Arab Emirates: Burj Dubai Estimated cost: $4 billion With their ultra-tall Burj Dubai, Emaar Properties want to do more than part the clouds with their building. The developers want to make a statement. A big statement. Even while still under construction, the Burj Dubai is already the world's tallest free-standing structure, eclipsing Toronto's 553-metre-tall CN Tower in September 2007. When completed in late 2009, the building will exceed 800 metres and house offices, a glitzy hotel and residential space. By then, the skyscraper will have consumed 330,000 metric tonnes of concrete, 39,000 metric tonnes of steel rebar and 142,000 square metres of glass, and 22 million worker hours of labour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Algeria: east-west highway Estimated cost: $13 billion Flush with a windfall of oil and gas revenues, the Algerian government has embarked on a $144-billion project to upgrade the country's public works. Schools, hospitals and a subway for the capital, Algiers, are all being built. A cornerstone will be the east-west highway that will span more than 1,200 km across the country, connecting the Tunisian border in the east with Morocco in the west. Expected to be completed in 2010 and financed completely by the government, the roadway will also connect Algiers and other major cities in the country's north. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China: Three Gorges Dam Estimated cost: $25 billion Spanning the Yangtze River, Three Gorges is 210 metres high and more than two kilometres long. Critics call it an environmental nightmare, but China's leaders believe it will control flooding along the Yangtze, harnessing an estimated 18,000 megawatts of power by its eventual completion in 2009. However, the dam has displaced more than one million people and it's estimated rising waters will submerge 1,200 towns and villages. Work began in 1993 on the project which, when complete, will produce three times the capacity of Canada's Churchill Falls generating station in Newfoundland and Labrador. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moscow: Crystal Island Estimated cost: $4 billion Once completed, this sprawling residential and commercial complex near the heart of Moscow is expected to be one of the world's largest and most expensive buildings. British architect Norman Foster has drafted plans for a tent-like structure with 2.5 million square metres of ground space set around a 450-metre peak. As planned, Crystal Island would include an observatory deck near the top, as well as apartments, entertainment facilities and sports complexes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco: Bay Bridge Estimated cost:$6.3 billion Upon its completion in 1936, the Bay Bridge was hailed as an engineering triumph, spanning the 13 kilometres between San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. But a major 1989 earthquake, which caused extensive damage to the bridge, drove home the need for repairs to guard against future temblors. So this massive repair project was drawn up. The eastern span will be entirely rebuilt and its western portions greatly overhauled. Work on the bridge, which carries an estimated 280,000 cars per day, is expected to wrap up in 2013. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Australia: Brisbane bypass tunnel Estimated cost: $3 billion This big dig will eventually deliver Australia's largest tunnel, built under the streets of the city of Brisbane. Named the Clem Jones Tunnel after a popular former mayor, it will provide another north-south traffic artery through the city. The goal for completion is the end of 2009. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Strait of Messina Bridge Estimated cost: $9 billion Since Roman times, Italian leaders have dreamed of a fixed link between the mainland and the island of Sicily. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tried to bring such a plan to life after his election in 2001, only to have it scuppered after a change of government in 2006. The April 2008 election restored Berlusconi to power and gave the idea a second life. The new plan calls for a 3.3-kilometre suspension bridge — it would be the world's longest, besting the current world record holder by almost 1.5 kilometres. Construction could begin in 2010 and wrap up by 2016, a government official says. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Las Vegas: CityCenter Estimated cost: $9 billion Dubbed a "city within a city" on the famous Las Vegas Strip, this monster complex will combine a resort casino called Aria, along with several other hotels and residential buildings. CityCenter will cover 76 acres after its expected completion in 2009. A little more than 46,000 square metres of space will be dedicated to The Crystals, a complex featuring restaurants, retail and other entertainment. The project will employ about 7,000 construction workers, according to the developers.
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