As part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec, the development of the îlot des Palais site constitutes a formidable socio-cultural and recreational tourism tool to revitalize the palace district and to promote the exceptional historical and heritage value of the site. The realization of this project is all the more interesting because it presents stimulating challenges on the urban, architectural, historical and socio-economic levels. Due to the unique character of the site, the chosen concept not only recalls the history, but also participates in its evolution.
CONCEPT:
TRACES OF THE PAST
The foundations of the proposed concept are based on the notions of archaeology and on a thorough reading of the historical evolution of the constructions as traces of the past. Thus, the analysis of the occupation shows distinct imprints on the whole site as the block changes. Although the buildings that once stood proudly on the site have been reduced to mere vestiges, the strength of archaeological science is that it feeds the collective imagination and gives rise to a better understanding of the paths taken by the city's history.
STRATIFICATION
All the historical richness of the Îlot des Palais is also highlighted by the stratification of the site, a notion inherent to archaeology. The different layers present in a soil rich in history often remain the only witness of the different eras to ensure the interpretation of the archaeological remains. Moreover, the Îlot des Palais presents a strong horizontal stratification: the first palace strip, the second palace strip and the industrial strip. In this context, the project uses these distinctive strata to consolidate the spatio-temporal shift between the different periods.
In an allegorical approach, it is proposed to freeze in space and time the void left by the significant constructions that have disappeared instead of reconstructing the volume of the first palace. In this context, the new museum partially surrounds the three-dimensional footprint and defines, with its contours and shadows, the historically observed symbolic volume. This permeable exterior space, animating both the urban environment and the museum's users' path, constitutes the core around which all the architectural components of the project gravitate. These are structured in different strata, which are interspersed with each other, defining the symbolic volume, framing the main courtyard and highlighting the symmetrical composition of the second intendant's palace. The latter is used as an interpretive tool as well as an artifact, inspired by the original building. Finally, the development of the site is structured with the help of large longitudinal strata that derive from the specificities of the site (topography, implantation of buildings, road system). In some cases, they integrate and reinforce the various architectural bands of the project and, in other cases, they evoke the more recent implantation of industrial constructions.
JEAN-TALON PAVILION:
Gravitating around the symbolic volume, the functions have been grouped according to their nature within different strata. In this way, all the large exhibition rooms are inscribed in a first band along the old Saint-Vallier street. This strip houses the remains room, topped by the symbolic volume, the House of Fraser, which houses the administration and the other exhibition rooms. The organization of the different rooms offers multiple experiences to users. On the one hand, the exhibition rooms have appropriate clearances for the functions they contain and, on the other hand, the visit to the remains is carried out in a space that is reduced in height, reminding visitors of the underground nature of the archaeological excavations. This feeling is reinforced by the installation of a green roof, the foundation of the symbolic volume whose purpose is specified by a roof with wooden structures evoking the volumetry of the attics of previous buildings. This urban space, protected and arranged with the help of a reproduction of the traces of the first Intendant's palace, remains accessible to the walkers of the district and to the users of the archaeology center, since it is open to the installations of the courtyard of honor.
A second exhibition and reception area acts as an interface between the first area, the outdoor installations and the second steward's palace. Like the exterior roof structure, the main framework of this area of the museum is proposed in timber to create a friendly and enveloping atmosphere. The main and group entrances at each end direct users to its center, the starting point of the visit and the seat of the central aisle that led to the main door of the palace. From this point, a perfectly axial view of the façade of the second palace is offered and reinforced by its reflection in a linear water plane. The upper floors, fully fenestrated, are dedicated to the permanent exhibition. This allegorical filter, in direct visual relationship with the remains, the courtyards and the second palace, offers visitors a journey back in time where the interpretation of the artifacts blends with the contemporaneity of the new works evoking the 400 years of history of the city of Quebec. At the western end of this second band, a vertical signal element marking the main entrance suggests the former tower of the first palace, an undisputed symbol of places of power. This architectural component is thus combined with the symbolic volume of the courtyard of the remains.
SECOND STEWARD'S PALACE :
The second steward's palace integrates the protocol activities on the upper floors and complements the exhibition spaces of the Jean-Talon pavilion through the use of vaulted rooms in the basement. The historically more faithful reproduction of the palace offers, by its volumetry and the composition of its facades, an important contrast with the Jean-Talon pavilion. In this context, it assumes its role as a building in which the components of the program are symmetrically organized and participates in the interpretation of the site as an artifact. The architectural harmony of the two pavilions is however ensured by the use of identical frame and envelope materials, as well as by the implementation of contemporary assembly details.
In both cases, a concrete and wood structure, stone cladding with contemporary textures and formats, and copper cladding in the roof composition unite their architectural facture. A passageway illuminated by the water feature further connects the two phases.
SITE DEVELOPMENT :
The proposal for the development of the site, closely linked to the architectural organization of the project, supports the new function of the îlot des Palais as a cultural and tourist center. Initially felt to be an enclosed site, it now opens up and participates in the urban environment in which it is located. The development begins with the garden of the vestiges, a protected space in the heart of the Jean-Talon pavilion, open to the Côte de la Potasse and the promenade of the fortifications. It continues with the development of the main strip in the center of the site that recalls the traces of industrial buildings. Its variable topography encompasses under a green roof the restaurant open to the courtyard of honor while it clears below on the other side of the courtyard a zone of exterior remains. Bordered by traffic lanes and the two pavilions, this strip ensures continuous access to the courtyard of honor and provides a microclimate sheltered from the wind and long periods of sunlight. Finally, the development of the site ends with the establishment of an axis of penetration to the site from the station square.
CONCLUSIONS:
The concept presented is thus articulated on the significant traces of the past and on the stratification of the site's components. It generates a structuring project for the district and the new function of the site as a socio-cultural and recreational tourism center. The symbolic void of the first palace highlighted in the proposal, juxtaposed with the courtyard of honor, now offers permeability and visibility to the historic site that was too long left forgotten. Through the new museum functions that the city is putting forward, it is certain that the traces, important witnesses of the history of the city of Quebec, will henceforth participate in the collective imagination.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
2nd prize: 2748-3951, Gagnon Letellier Cyr Ricard Mathieu architects (S. Brochu and F. Paradis)
The concept proposed by the authors of this project, that is to say, to represent the disappeared buildings of the Jean-Talon pavilion through a void, seduced several members of the jury. From the outset, the overall plan, the sections and the perspectives testify to a frank position in this regard, supported by appropriate graphics and renderings. The transparency and visual permeability of the project were also emphasized. The superimposition of a surface representation of the remains given to the public outside, to better discover them in their reality from inside, appeared as a strategy full of promise despite the debate it forces to engage on the truth. Further analysis of the project revealed that the museum crypt would only have a reduced height, which would limit its appreciation, and that the large void created above the remains is ultimately disproportionate to the limited visibility of the southern side of the site and the proximity of the pincers. Also, this large exterior void that must be constructed results in significant additional costs for limited benefit to the interior and puts pressure on the program, which must thus be pushed back to the courtyard of honor, whose clearance is reduced accordingly. The project has clear geometries and direct routes, but lacks the finesse of spatial articulation and richness of routes of the previous project. The connection to the roof of the House of Fraser was seen as questionable. For several members of the jury, the treatment of the second palace is indefensible in the proposed construction.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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