Riccardo DI MARCO

Biographical note
Head of the STM Architecture department since 2016, Riccardo Di Marco is a licensed architect with a Master’s degree in building conservation. He cumulates experience practicing architecture in private practices as well as working in project management for the past ten years. He oversaw major construction projects in the healthcare field and had many responsibility roles such as Director of technical services in a major Montréal area hospital. Riccardo is back to his passion: architecture, where he collaborates day after day with a team of dedicated and talented professionals that keep the modern heritage of the STM’s metro system alive.

Presentation: Light in the underground
The presentation will talk about the Montréal metro in terms of the architectural choices made since its creation to make it functional, but also to create an interest in everyone’s journey. Riccardo Di Marco will talk about what characterises the metro, why the metro is the way it is and the challenges to allowed natural light to penetrate the station. Riccardo will explain the social and political context that led to a network offering 68 completely different stations and of course how natural light was guided to the platforms despite the depth of the stations, the gestures to mark the user direction and orientation and how sometimes artificial lighting can play both role.