Place Ville Marie
I. M. Pei + Henry N. Cobb · Montréal, Canada · 1962
Place Ville Marie is a cruciform office tower rising above a large commercial and transit complex in central Montréal. Designed by I. M. Pei and Henry N. Cobb, the project connected tower, public plaza, underground retail and rail infrastructure into a new model of downtown development. Its aluminum-and-glass elevations and four projecting wings give the high-rise a distinctive profile from multiple directions. Opened in 1962, the complex helped redefine Montréal’s skyline and accelerated the development of the city’s interconnected underground pedestrian network.