A chalice standing more than three metres tall and made of silvered aluminum bands that people can walk between is the chosen design for a downtown Ottawa monument to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.

"The sculpture, it's open, so you can see through it. But there's also openings that you can walk into it," said Linda Covit.

The Covit/Nguyen/NORR design team based in Montreal beat seven other teams in a competition to design a new monument to Lord Frederick Stanley's eponymous silver bowl. The entries ranged from a giant version of hockey's famous prize to a realistic sculpture of Lord Stanley himself.

The monument's shape will resemble the simple silver bowl donated by Stanley at a nearby hotel before the addition of the stacked podium more familiar to hockey fans today.

"We were given a rectangular space, 10 metres by four metres on the Sparks Street mall, so that definitely influenced the physical aspect of the sculpture," said Covit.

The large chalice will sit on a small white paved rink "with embedded stainless steel lines evoking skate marks and 39 granite discs engraved with the names of the Stanley Cup winners from 1893 to 2017," according to a media release from the non-profit group Lord Stanley's Gift Memorial Monument Inc.

There will also be a large black granite bench in the shape of a hockey puck and the designers are working on incorporating sound as well. The hope is that when people walk into the sculpture they will hear the "whoosh" of skates gliding on ice.

"We believe that this design magnifies and abstracts the Stanley Cup's original, modest form, giving it a glittering and iconic presence overlooking Confederation Square, the place of the Stanley Cup's birth," said George Hunter, chair of the monument group, in a media release.

'I don't aim to please everyone'

A jury of art and hockey experts, as well as writers — including Roch Carrier of The Hockey Sweater fame and former NHL goaltender and MP Ken Dryden — evaluated the entries.

Although some on social media have criticized the design, Covit says she and her design team are pleased with what they've come up with.

"I don't mind if not everybody loves it. That's OK," said Covit.

"What's important for me is that I'm convinced that I'm happy with what I've done because I wouldn't want to be putting up something that I'm not feeling good about either aesthetically or conceptually," she said. "I don't aim to please everybody."

Lord Stanley's Gift Memorial Monument Inc. has been trying to get this project off the ground for years. After an unsuccessful attempt to raise private funds, the federal government agreed to shoulder most of the monument's $2.8-million price tag.

To be unveiled in December 2017

The monument is set to be unveiled in December 2017 at the corner of Sparks and Elgin streets to commemorate both the 125th anniversary of Stanley's donation of the cup and the centennial of the NHL.

The corner is near the spot where the Russell House Hotel once stood, where Stanley made his famous donation.

The chosen location was somewhat controversial when first announced in 2013 because it meant the monument would displace Territorial Prerogative, the towering bronze sculpture of a mother bear spearing a salmon with her claws.

However the widow of Bruce Garner, the bear sculpture's creator, has since agreed to oversee its restoration and relocation to the corner of Sparks and Metcalfe streets.

The losing designs:​

Coupland/Leinster/Mills

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SPMB/1X1 Architecture

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Intégral Jean Beaudoin + Novalux

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Myros Trutiak/Pellettier/Vandergaast

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JA Architecture Studio & Sebastian Errazuriz Studio

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North Design Office/Blackwell/Mulvi & Banani

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Studio West/Exp.