The artwork is presented in the pool west of the Casino de Montréal (formerly the Québec pavilion) in Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Île Notre-Dame. The three concrete pillars that support the steel sculpture are submerged, giving the impression that it is floating on the surface of the water.

The abstract sculpture is made of triangular steel plates welded together at their edges. Assembled, they form different geometric figures articulated around three arch-shaped volumes. The artist took inspiration for the artwork from the theme of the Québec pavilion, “Challenge, Combat, Momentum.”

This sculpture is particularly representative of the late 1960s, when sculptural research was turning toward abstraction and there was a marked interest in geometry and the articulation of forms through an interplay of planes set at different angles. Acier was Heyvaert’s first work executed in metal.

The sculpture was commissioned by the government of Québec for its pavilion at the Montréal World Fair in 1967. When the call for bids was issued, eight sculptors were asked make submissions: Pierre Heyvaert, Ulysse Comtois, Paul Borduas, Jacques Huet, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Robert Roussil, Yves Trudeau, and Armand Vaillancourt.