Montreal Biosphère
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| Established | 1967 |
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| Location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Type | environment museum |
| Website | biosphere.ec.gc.ca/ |
The Biosphere is a museum in Montreal dedicated to the environment. It is located at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Saint Helen's Island in the former pavilion of the United States for the 1967 World Fair, Expo 67.
Contents
History
Expo 67
The architect of the geodesic dome was Buckminster Fuller. The building originally formed an enclosed structure of steel and acrylic cells, 76 metres (250 ft) in diameter and 62 metres (200 ft) high. The dome is a Class 1, Frequency 16 Icosahedron. A complex system of shades was used to control its internal temperature.
Architects from Golden Metak Productions designed the interior exhibition space. Visitors had access to four themed platforms divided into seven levels. The building included a 37-metre-long escalator, the longest ever built at the time. The Minirail monorail ran through the pavilion.[1]
1976 fire
In the afternoon of 20 May 1976, during structural renovations, a fire burned away the building's transparent acrylic bubble, but the hard steel truss structure remained.[2] The site remained closed until 1990.[3][4]
Biosphere Environment Museum
In August, 1990, Environment Canada purchased the site for $17.5 million to turn it into an interactive museum showcasing and exploring the water ecosystems of the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence River regions.[4] The museum was inaugurated in 1995 as a water museum, and is a set of enclosed buildings designed by Éric Gauthier, inside the original steel skeleton. The Biosphère changed its name in 2007 to become an environment museum. It offers interactive activities and presents exhibitions about the major environmental issues related to water, climate change, air, ecotechnologies and sustainable development.
In popular culture
The structure was used prominently in the original Battlestar Galactica television series episode "Greetings from Earth". Scenes for Robert Altman's post-apocalyptic ice age film Quintet were shot on site as well.
The Biosphere appears in the 2003 animated Jacob-Two Two TV episode "Jacob Two Two and the Notorious Knit Knapper", in which it is used as the headquarters for a group of seniors who plan on knitting a giant tea cosy to cover Montreal.
See also
References
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Side view
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In snow
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October 2005
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From the water
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Interior view
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July 2011
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Biosphere in March, 2012
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Montreal Biosphère. |
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- Pages with reference errors
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Event venues established in 1980
- Landmarks in Montreal
- Museums in Montreal
- Buckminster Fuller
- High-tech architecture
- Geodesic domes
- Expo 67
- Rebuilt buildings and structures in Canada
- Natural history museums in Canada
- World's fair architecture in Canada
- Buildings and structures completed in 1967
- Burned buildings and structures in Canada
- Parc Jean-Drapeau
- Museums established in 1990
- 1990 establishments in Quebec
