ABSTRACT
Montreal’s plans for a dramatic, iconic central venue for the 1976 Summer Games fell foul of the hyperinflation that hit the global economy in the 1970s. Extra security following terrorist activity also blew holes in the budget. Nevertheless, the autocratic Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau commissioned French architect Roger Tallibert to design a major stadium that would have a legacy use as a home for a US Major League Baseball team.
Given Montreal’s harsh winters, a stadium would need to be covered, but the roof would have to open for the Games. Tallibert’s design featured what would eventually become the world’s tallest inclined structure supporting a Kevlar roof via steel cables. A complex precast concrete structure comprised around 12,000 individual elements, which had to be produced to extremely demanding specifications, even through a Montreal winter.
Construction only began in 1973, and was dogged by strikes and escalating costs. There were allegations of massive corruption in the supply chain. Eventually the Quebec provincial government threw Tallibert and the French project managers off the site, and managed to complete the basic stadium in time for the Games.
The tower and roof were finally completed in 1987, but the roof never worked properly and has been replaced several times.
