MONTREAL

Roger Taillibert, who designed Montreal's Olympic Stadium, has died at 93

Staff The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, October 3, 2019 2:06PM EDT

French architect and designer of Montreal's Olympic stadium Roger Taillibert attends the launch of an exhibit on the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Monday, June 6, 2016.Tallibert has died at age 93. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

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MONTREAL -- Roger Taillibert, the architect who designed Montreal's Olympic Stadium, has died at the age of 93.

The renowned French architect also created the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris and the Khalifa Stadium in Qatar.

Taillibert's success in France in the 1960s and early 1970s attracted the attention of then-Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, who asked him to design a stadium to house the 1976 Olympics and later the Montreal Expos baseball team.

Taillibert's vision for the Olympic Stadium included a massive concrete dome with a retractable roof, held up by cables suspended from the world's largest inclined tower, at 165 metres high.

He remained proud of the design and continued to defend his creation over the years, despite criticism over its malfunctioning roof and an original price tag that ballooned to several times its original estimate.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante writes on Twitter today that Taillibert has left the city a great legacy, noting that his stadium is known around the world.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 3, 2019.