Stage 1
"God created man because he loved stories" - Elie Wiesel, The Gates of the Forest
This is the place where stories are told, where we share what we know, where we let the voices of generations live on. The Montreal Holocaust Museum seeks to be a place of remembrance but also of triumph - an open building for a community that seeks a sense of place to celebrate the lives and people who carry the voice of the Jewish community after the Holocaust.
Many Holocaust museums wish to embody the horrors experienced in the concentration camps and ghettos through massive forms, intense darkness, and terrifying heaviness.
Instead, this proposal focuses on celebrating memory and building a museum that offers different communities and the Jewish community in particular a space for sharing, learning, and celebrating life.
Although it is a place of memory, the museum does not stand as a monument. It is a living place, constantly creating spaces for engagement and interaction. The open garden, the active circulations, the gallery of testimonies, the flexible agora in direct link with the city; the museum allows the meeting and the sharing of experiences between communities.
We are the story we tell about ourselves, and in its duality the museum evokes the grief of those lost in the Holocaust, but also celebrates the joy of their lives, seeks to offer future generations a space to learn and grow.
Stage 2
To Life - More than 80 years later, the metaphorical power of Kristallnacht remains intact and the wounds of the Shoah are still extremely vivid. But a Holocaust museum should not only be about violence and horror; it should also be about the extraordinary resilience of the Jewish community and its incredible capacity for healing. The story of the Jewish diaspora in Montreal illustrates this possible rebirth of a community torn apart by persecution and war.
Our proposal for the Montreal Holocaust Museum attempts to synthesize this dialectic between sadness and optimism, mourning and celebration, evocation of wounds and their healing. While it serves an important function as a memorial, a place where one can fully indulge in sadness and anger, the museum is also a place where one can learn, share, and celebrate life and the strength of community.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Stage 1
The jury appreciates the simplicity and timelessness of the project, which are in keeping with the Museum's mission and vision to preserve the memory of the Holocaust through time. The viability and visibility of the garden, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, is emphasized as well as its contribution to the city. The proposed progression through the spaces is a strong point of the proposal. The dissolution of the façade, which avoids mimicry and subtly recaptures the rhythm of the traditional subdivision, is appreciated. The jury recognizes the potential of the long glass screens to represent the shards of glass from Kristallnacht rather than using recycled glass to suggest the strength of the Jewish people. The jury expresses reservations about the proposed Testimonial Gallery and the individual viewing cubicles located there.
Stage 2
The jury underlines the quality of the urban integration of this project, with the respect of the alignments of the facades on the two streets, the animation offered on the Saint-Dominique Street side by the classrooms and the garden on Saint-Laurent Street.
The two outdoor spaces open to the sky are appreciated. The garden on the boulevard creates a widening of the street and offers a beautiful progression towards the Museum entrance.
However, the jury is divided on the proposed enclosure strategy for the garden and on the image that such a fence, even if it is light in appearance, will give to the Museum outside of opening hours. The open well from the garden to the echo room poses security and maintenance problems.
The jury is divided on the symbolic aspects and the emotional dimension of the project.
In particular, the jury discussed the symbolism of the broken glass, which refers to Kristallnacht. For some, this analogy may lack depth over the life of the Museum. For others, the metaphor is empowering, particularly through the image of "repair" offered by this glass. Beyond the symbolism, the jury agrees that this material, in addition to being recycled, offers a beautiful light and is elegant.
Concerning the museum itinerary, the jury underlines its appreciation of the different moments offered to visitors in the itinerary, especially from the public space. However, the jury is divided on the progression offered through the spaces, which some consider to be the opposite of the desired one, since the brightest element of the project (the garden) is offered first, and then evolves into increasingly darker spaces. As a metaphor, this sequence seems to contradict the message the Museum wishes to convey.
Nevertheless, the jury notes that the organization of the spaces displays great clarity.
The excellent mastery of the technique, the bio-climatic strategies, the structure and the integration of the equipment is underlined by the jury.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
30 scanned / 30 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Cross-sectional perspective
- Section
- Construction detail
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
- Reference Image
- Reference Image
- Reference Image
- Reference Image
- Presentation Panel
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Section
- Elevation
- Axonometric Drawing