Jacques-Cartier Square awakens in us, users and designers, a feeling and an emotion that we had not yet experienced.
We call this symbolic force of the Place "The Victory of Montreal".
Attitude:
This felt symbolic force, so strong in itself, carrying collective memories in the making, calls out not only to Jacques-Cartier Square but also to the Historic City as well as the City.
From this perspective, conceiving Jacques-Cartier Square in a triple responsibility constitutes the most demanding framework to which it would have to bear witness.
The risk is great, as the Victory of Cities is clothed in many moods, some of which lead to superficiality.
Simplicity:
[...]
Silence:
While everywhere signs and messages are multiplied and superimposed, while the word has become unintelligible and the meaning diluted, silence appears as the threshold of appreciation of a memory in the making.
The project we are submitting seeks to understand the contemporary complexity that affects the site but refuses to overload it.
It also seeks to welcome a memory constructed of silences but maintains that silence is not silence.
He suggests that the spirit of the place, the Victory of Montreal, takes root when the space that receives men also knows how to be alone.
Ultimately, it knows that it will always be a place...when no one is there...it is.
(From specialized magazine)
(Unofficial automated translation)
The project took into account the constraints highlighted by the program, but certain parts of the solution proposed were not convincing.
The jury had the following reservations:
- the public space in front of City Hall will be exposed to the dominant winter winds which will discourage its use;
- maintenance and appearance have been overlooked with the introduction of relatively small sunken courts in the public space which will not work in winter;
- the narrowness of the museum space proposed and the museum organization are not entirely satisfactory;
- the fragmented spaces at the interior of the block will not be favorably used by the hotel as it is the case for those which will be used as an exterior terrace for the hotel.
Nevertheless, this scheme has positive aspects:
the basic morphology of the site is respected;
- the block bordered by Notre-Dame, in front of City Hall, calls for a public space framed by museums;
- a judicious distinction has been established between the public and private domain, the private being beyond Le Royer Street.
This arrangement permits a neat resolution of the problem posed by the differences in level between Notre-Dame and Le Royer streets.
- The commercial buildings positioned on the block between Le Royer and St. Paul streets follow in the traditional mould of Vieux-Montréal. They permit multi-directional access to the interior of the block.
In conclusion, the overall promise of the scheme merited a more convincing design interpretation.
(From jury report)
21 scanned / 21 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
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- Schema
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- Presentation Panel Excerpt
