New buildings along the Main
Radio-Canada visits the new buildings going up beside the Monument-National incorporating dead-looking fragments of the façades of buildings that used to stand there. Essentially they are, of course, glass boxes, meant to house government functionaries – just what you want in a Quartier des spectacles.
qatzelok 11:46 on 2019-02-16 Permalink
The architects have incorporated the old facades along St Lawrence in a way that symbolizes disrespect for architecture. And the result is very ugly – like some kind of failed, kitschy brutalism.
Christopher DeWolf 12:03 on 2019-02-16 Permalink
Brutalism is a specific genre of architecture, not just shorthand for any kind of building you don’t like.
I’m not a fan of the particular blue tint of the glass, but I don’t mind the way the historic façade was reconstructed. Apparently it would have been impossible to rebuild the old façades exactly as they were, because somebody screwed up and pieces were degraded in storage, so the architects chose to remix the historic materials in a way that acknowledged the past without trying to mimic it. Assuming it was indeed impossible to rebuild the old structures, this is an elegant workaround that avoids Disneyland-style fakery.
Also, this complex will contain a new home for the Centre d’histoire, as well as a large food hall with bars and restaurants, so it’s not exactly out of place in the QdS.
Su 13:13 on 2019-02-16 Permalink
Yaccarini and his “non profit ” . https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/200910/30/01-916624-trois-edifices-phares-confies-a-un-homme-au-passe-criminel.php. Appalling .
Myles 19:05 on 2019-02-16 Permalink
Facadism can work, but that’s such a poor job it’s insulting to the public’s intelligence. The honest thing to do would have been to throw out the stone. There’s nothing really left of those old buildings.
qatzelok 19:54 on 2019-02-16 Permalink
Actually, there was lots of stone left. And the ones missing could have been filled in.
Now, a strip club is the nicest facade on that strip other than the MN.
But this is forced “podium” design, and the raw cement-infill looks like a Brutalism facade after it’s begun to disintegrate. Brutalism – as well as a trend – is also a strategy for creating the cheapest exterior treatment imaginable.
The windows that are “punched in” are an insult to the profession of architecture. The facade also recalls awful shopping mall “design tricks.”
Alex L 00:10 on 2019-02-17 Permalink
That stretch of the street sure lost its soul with that project.
Kate 13:03 on 2019-02-17 Permalink
Alex L, yes, it did. Johnny Zoumboulakis is a culture hero.