Christopher Forsyth is a Montreal-based photographer with a love for exploring his city. Check out his work on his website or Instagram.
The Montreal Metro Project is an ongoing photo project capturing the ideals of the system- collective movement, and a unique architectural experience. When I began in 2014, my goal for the project was to accentuate the beauty of each station and encourage Montrealers to see their metro in a new light. Color and lines have always been what I look for, but above all, motion is what drives the series. The metro is a living and breathing system designed to make getting where you need to go simple and efficient. All the moving parts that make it quick for us to get around also make for interesting images.
When the construction project was launched in the mid 60’s, under the direction of Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, a competition was held among Canadian architects to decide who was to design each station. As a result, every station was designed by an individual architect and art installations were commissioned on a station to station basis.
My first resource when I want to learn about any station or anything metro related is “Metro: Design in Motion” by John Martins-Manteiga, a bilingual book that runs through an in-depth history of the system, its construction, the design of every station, the cars, everything. I can’t recommend this book enough. For more about metro design, you can also check out the STM’s Station Maquettes, and Metro History page.