Olympic Stadium
Architect: Roger Taillibert (Paris, France)
Montreal, Quebec
Image Gallery:
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Olympic Stadium Architect: Roger Taillibert (Paris, France) Montreal, Quebec
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About the building:
Designed for the 1976 Olympic Games, Olympic Stadium was not completed on time due to a strike by construction workers. The (556-foot-high) leaning tower used to retract the roof stood half finished until 1987 when the roof was finally completed. It took another 2 years before the roof, made from 60,696 square feet of Kevlar weighing 50 tons, became retractable. Problems with opening and closing the roof led to its permanent closure. In the spring of 1998, the orange Kevlar roof was removed and a $26 million opaque blue roof replaced it later in the year. The new roof does not open. The stadium’s total cost has exceeded $1 billion.
Tenant: Montreal Expos (NL)
Opened: Summer 1976
First Expos game: April 15, 1977
Style: Retractable roof (inoperable)
Surface: Artificial (1977); Astroturf (1989); AstroGrass (2002).
Capacity: 43,739 (baseball); 56,245 (football)
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View
from the plaza to the concrete tower. |
View
of plaza between stadium and biodome on right. |
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View
of biodome facility adjacent to stadium. The biodome now houses an interior
zoo. |
Closer shot of bubble skylights on biodome roof. |
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Closer
view of the concrete tower and tensions supports for the (theoretically)
operable roof . |
View
down back side of concrete tower. |
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Skylight enclosure
to light parking faciltiy below. |
Concrete fin
structure juts out of glazing rim of dome. |
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View of concrete
fin and glazing. |
Huge water spouts
from stadium and biodome roofs collect water during rainstorms. |
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The images on this site have been taken for use in my teaching. They may be copied for educational purposes. Please give credit. These images may not be reproduced commercially without written consent.
last updated May 30, 2005
