It's a bit counter-intuitive to realize that today but Montreal is one of North America's most important cities - or at least it used to be. For many years Canada's economic hub, biggest port and a crossroads for industry and commerce, Montreal experienced that big shift into becoming a metropolis around 1800-1850.

To make sure they would be able to adequatly cover that period -marked by immigration, trade, industry and other historical transformative events- the Montréal Archeology Museum,  Pointe-à-Callière, had reserved a huge wall to feature that kind of important historical transformation. The right occasion arose in 2010 with the building of a memorial to be added to the museum’s permanent collection.

To celebrate and tell the story of that vibrant period, Bluesponge’s proposal was to deploy a huge fresco, a replica of the Port of Montréal as it could be seen at the time while standing from that same vantage point. The historical dimension was central to the creative process of that immersive visual environment that provides visitors with multiple layers of information, yet never  overburdening them.

The final project is a combination of classical illustration elements on ultra-modern-though-discrete media using LED's glass, vinyl printing, interactive screens, 3D physical and virtual objects... all integrated into a classical piece that would stand the test of time.