The project of the Îlot des Palais, by its value of historical evocation and in its role of cultural and urban pole, is stated here in two distinct landscapes superimposed: the landscape of the court of honor anchored in the heart of a new enclosure sed above a second landscape consisting of a museum that is perpetuated in gardens of remains that ensure the continuity of contemporary urban fabric.
The location in the city and the creation of a landscape
The historical documents that inform us about the past existence of the intendance show us beyond any doubt that beyond the building, the power that the intendant exercised was carried by an articulated and learned landscape. We therefore propose to place at the center of our approach the creation of a unifying landscape that delicately calibrates the oppositions of historical evocation and contemporary functions. The new ensemble, through a differentiated materialization of the buildings as well as in the precise definition of the public spaces, will have the task of strengthening the physical links that once linked this place with the city of Quebec while marking the contemporary imagination.
The spatial organization
In order to evoke the enclosure of the Second Palace era while promoting the fluidity of public spaces with the surrounding fabric, we have taken advantage of the site's significant unevenness and instituted two superimposed civic levels with strongly differentiated characters.
A lower level, which originates on the banks of Saint-Nicolas Street and descends gently to the level of the remains of the first palace, creates a triangular square whose inclined plane allows the uncovering of remains that emerge as witnesses of history. This level becomes the entrance to the museum. Under the main courtyard, it crosses a large hall to re-emerge on the other side, providing a second entrance for groups coming from the buses along Rue Vallière.
An upper level emerges from the plateau of present-day De Saint-Vallier Street East in an important porte cochere cut into the new Jean-Talon pavilion and descends gently to the original level of the second intendant's palace, where we find a courtyard of honor configured in the classical manner, that is, supported laterally by the palace's overhangs extended by lateral gardens furnished with topiaries. This majestic axis culminates in a monumental staircase that will lead dignitaries to the "piano nobile" during ceremonial activities.
The general distribution restores a clear geometrical order whose implementation allows a precise circumvention of the walls of the existing barracks during the time of the works, while offering a panorama of classical inspiration to the numerous visitors whose first visual contact with the island of palaces will be from the Upper Town.
A center for discovery
The visit to the Museum of History and Archaeology begins under the main courtyard, in a vast reception hall that allows visitors, alone or in groups, to go either to the second palace or to the Jean-Talon pavilion, but above all to the multimedia room where the planned visit begins. This central room is designed to offer a collective experience in a circular space whose verticality is surprising and whose configuration allows a versatility of use as well as that necessary for the renewal of presentations. At the end of the introductory show, a breakthrough in the wall of the Jean-Talon pavilion allows us to approach the discovery of the remains.
A hall for the remains
Above the remains and also protecting under its large grey silt roof the House of Fraser to the east and part of the old De Saint-Vallier Street to the south, a large hall of subdued light crosses almost the entire block to the west without disturbing the precious underground. This hall of simple geometry, posing as a counterpoint to the formal complexity of the remains, opposes its precise assembly of openwork stone to the apparent rustic chaos of the ruins. At night, a skilful lighting of the remains, supported by a lighting system piercing through the whole shell of the building, makes the presence of the past in the present spectacular.
In this hall, a museological path is privileged without excluding the possibility offered to the informed visitors to short-circuit it. This circuit unfolds on four levels suspended above the remains and offers each visitor a deferential experience.
The first level, that of the remains, allows visitors to discover their materiality. Here, burnt wood, crumbly stone from the hillside, grey stone or recent brick are visible up close and some are made available to the touch.
Above, a long footbridge allows, on the second level, to walk along the old rue De Saint-Vallier as a passer-by would have done three centuries earlier.
From the wall openings of the king's stores, views of certain rooms are commented.
At the east end, the House of Fraser becomes a place open to the hall where more traditional museographic means can be put in place.
Along the opposite wall of the old De Saint-Vallier street, an aerial view of the remains from a mezzanine allows us to understand the successive perimeters of the buildings that succeeded one another on the site. A glance to the north reveals a life-size evocation of the past: the second intendant's palace and its main courtyard.
On the fourth level, all of the artifacts discovered during the excavations are on display. From this more enclosed space, a translucent and airy footbridge crosses the porte cochère to lead us to the temporary exhibition room. At the end of this visit, a staircase located above the old rue De Saint-Vallier brings us back to the starting point in a course punctuated by the multipurpose room and a restaurant with a panoramic view of the courtyard of honor.
The simple geometry and proven construction system of this hall are in themselves guarantees of the technical and economic feasibility of the whole.
A new palace and its surroundings
Although the project proposed for phase 1, by its inclusive geometry and its full respect of the existing levels, remains relevant without the reconstruction of the second palace, our interpretation of its implementation recognizes certain values that are complementary to the whole. Thus, taking note of the volumetry and the ordering of the original openings, the contemporary expression of the second palace is manifested through the purified assemblies of traditional materials in a luminous chromatic unity that makes it emerge from the past to inscribe itself in the present. Linked by a classical geometry to the landscape allegories of the public space outside that surrounds it, it revives in a contemporary urban place the spirit that animated this civic space under the French regime. Aware that the reconstruction of the second palace is a gesture with a strong symbolic charge as much for the history of New France as for the advancement of architectural knowledge, it goes without saying that the fascinating challenge posed here is one of documentation, consultation, and true goldsmithing of the assemblies.
Taking from the city and giving to the city...
The archaeological excavations undertaken on this major site for the understanding of our history are leading today to the launching of the project of the Îlot des Palais. From this place was born the idea of country and around it was built the city. We are now going back to it to build a new urban space with the material we have drawn from it, a space that will carry the memory that we will bequeath to future generations. Beyond the technical and material questions, but without excluding them, we believe that this meeting between the understanding of the past and the deep ambitions of today constitutes the true nature of sustainable development.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
3rd prize: 6324-1758, Architect Jacques Plante / Schème / St-Gelais Montminy + Associés
This project captured attention for the boldness of its long-line layout, which follows the logic of the new barracks to the south, and for its innovative use of stone. The recovery of the basement of the courtyard of honor, to make it a centralized reception area and preserve a large clearance in front of the second palace, was appreciated by some members of the jury but did not convince everyone, particularly with regard to the ramps. The monolithic treatment of the envelope (walls and roof) appeared intriguing but probably a little too cartoonish. The covering of the Fraser House by the same large shell was considered an exaggeration. The geometric composition of the square has the advantage of being straightforward, but the resulting banality makes the central public space unfriendly. Surprisingly, the two pavilions facing each other on either side of this space do not maintain a dialogue. The resistance to engage in a reflection on the treatment of the second palace probably contributes to this, giving the impression of too great a gap in the treatment of the two pavilions and causing an imbalance of the whole. In the end, the concept appeared interesting because of its vigor and the frankness of the gesture, but the lack of nuance in its treatment paradoxically limits its evocative force.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
16 scanned / 16 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Photograph
- Perspective
- Plan
- Plan
- Section
- Conceptual Sketch
- Section
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Section
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Section
