On September 12th, the Sherbrooke, Cité des rivières corporation will be inaugurating a new urban environment created by internationally renowned artist and architect Melvin Charney. Concurrently, the Galerie d'art du Centre culturel de l'Université de Sherbrooke will be providing an artistic context for the esplanade Frontenac. This presentation will include an exhibition of some sixty works by Charney, a multimedia presentation and an exhibit of the esplanade Frontenac's book of plans. Together, these two events will position Sherbrooke as a city decidedly focused on the future and foster an in-depth dialogue on the role of art and architecture in an urban environment.

The desire of Sherbrooke, Cité des rivières to reclaim the Magog River's shoreline in the Frontenac Street area led to the creation of an urban environment of international calibre in downtown Sherbrooke. The combination of Melvin Charney's two roles - i.e., that of architect and artist - in this project is unique in Quebec. Indeed, as the project's prime contractor, Charney saw to the integration of art, plantings, and lighting as well as the street furnishings.

From the early days of Sherbrooke, the corner of Frontenac and Wellington North has been a remarkable location accommodating, successively, 19th-century mills and the first commercial buildings of the industrial era.

The urban planning project initiated in 2003 consisted in developing a general vision of the sector that was, at once, urban, architectural, artistic, environmental and event-driven. The project as a whole had to take into account the physical limitations of the site overlooking the Magog River, as well as ecological factors, budgetary concerns and a vision of the future development of Sherbrooke's downtown area. Sherbrooke, cité des rivières is one of the few organizations in Québec to have adopted an environmental policy to guide its development. Plans further called for the site to become a point of reference for those using the downtown core of this former industrial city - an area that, as a result of Melvin Charney's work, is now becoming a new destination.

The overall project was carried out at a cost of $3.2 million and financed by the City of Sherbrooke and the Government of Quebec within the framework of the Urban Renewal Program.

This new public site meets the needs of the city's residents as well as those of visitors. It provides a focal point for the urban redevelopment initiated in the area.

The esplanade Frontenac, as a whole, includes the full redevelopment of Frontenac Street from City Hall to the buildings on Wellington Street, creating a highly interesting pedestrian link. The addition of terraces further encourages passers-by to use the area. A complete tree-planting study resulted in a landscape that is most pleasant and user-friendly. An innovative lighting system ensures the comfort of strollers while enhancing the sector's colour palette. Developed by Melvin Charney and Atelier Urban Soland inc., the urban design also integrates a sculpture created by the artist.

Located at the centre of the esplanade Frontenac, this sculptural installation consists of two groups of elements evoking the merging of the Magog and Saint-François rivers.

More concretely, the sculptural installation uses sinuous, parallel lines to conjure up the flow of water. These lines become floating waves moving around the axes of the columns. The shaft of these axes recalls the channelling of the power, which wraps around and heads to the conduit before bring transformed into light. Produced from stainless steel, the undulating sections of the sculptural installation can be confused for the liquidity of water, since both the steel and the water shimmer in the sunlight. Light reflected on glass-bead blasted steel resembles light reflections on the surface of the water - the presence of one of the hardest materials reflecting another shapeless, liquid presence.

Come nightfall, the sculptural installation's design creates a luminous intensity that changes with every passing hour. Based on ambient lighting, this luminous intensity will increase at different times, gripping the inclined elements in an intermittent crescendo of light.

From the centre of these stainless steel sculptures, a jet of light rises, as if propelled by the hydroelectric power of the river. This light, which has a symbolic dimension, is actually generated by the waters of this river, thanks to a historic hydroelectric power plant located nearby.

Considered to be a whole, the various components of the esplanade Frontenac recall the origins of the city while heralding a new era.