Building heights and façade-ism
The construction of so many tall buildings that the view of Mount Royal is obscured by cityscape is a concern mentioned in this Le Devoir piece by Jeanne Corriveau, who only mentions in passing that Denis Coderre is in favour of abolishing the old rule against buildings higher than Mount Royal. She also considers the damage that architectural façade-ism is doing to heritage buildings, which can end up as merely a thin decorative frontage tacked onto a glass box.
Bert 19:32 on 2021-05-25 Permalink
One of my most memorable views is coming in to the city, at night, over the (old) Champlain. Love seeing the mountain towering in the background. Please, no.
david752 11:33 on 2021-05-26 Permalink
The architect’s argument against facadism isn’t that it demolishes old buildings, it’s that it grafts old building facades onto modern buildings, instead of allowing the new to replace the old. She seems to be arguing a very incoherent point, that facadism is bad because it seems the old buildings demolished but the new buildings aren’t built in the same old style. Believe me, I’d love it if Montreal had greystone towers everywhere, but that’s not going to happen these days, and it’s just a crank’s position.
Robert H 18:24 on 2021-05-26 Permalink
Je soutien la mise en valeur de l’héritage bâti de Montréal et je suis d’accord que cet héritage est menacé par la frénésie de la construction que la ville connaît maintenant. Mais je pense que dans cet article, Jeanne Corriveau aurait pu choisi un meillieur exemple que le projet de La Baie qui comprendrait un tour de 120 metres. J’ai vu les rendus publiés par Menkes Shooner Dagenais Letouneux et ils semblent supérieur à ce que nous voyons normalement a Montreal. On pourrait se disputer avec le revêtement mur rideau vitré de la tour mais ce n’est pas un example du façadisme. L’immeuble patrimonial, Colonial House et les additions des années 1920 en grès rouge restera ainsi que La Baie, la derniere des grands magasins traditional sur la rue Sainte Catherine qui continuera d’occuper les premiers cinq étages au lieu de fermer comme à Winnipeg et Edmonton. Si on cherche une cible du façadisme, regarder pas loin le projet MAA Condominiums qui pousse maintenant à la rue Peel ou 1000 de la Montagne, un autre tour à condos en chantier. On ne vit pas dans un parc historique. Une ville vivant doit pouvoir évoluer mais il y a un moyen de préserver le patrimoine sans s’opposer par réflexe à tout ce qui est nouveau.
@Bert: la première fois que j’ai vu Montréal, c’était à partir d’un autobus qui traversait le pont Champlain. La ville fait une entrée spectaculaire. Dommage que le principal aéroport commercial se trouve à Dorval au lieu de Saint-Hubert. Bien sûr, Dorval, c’est plus practique, mais le trajet vers le centre-ville est moins…enchanteur.
David736 00:20 on 2021-05-27 Permalink
^ Great point, and I’d even add that when it comes to the Bay, there’s no patrimonial value to the space other than the facade. They’ve run that place through the ringer. When you talk Eaton, different story, but with the Bay, come on.
That said, the MAA project on Peel is one of great projects.
Robert H 10:13 on 2021-05-27 Permalink
@David736: HBC has certainly allowed the building to go to seed both inside and out, though as a part of the proposed project, it will receive a thorough renovation, according to the company’s media statement. It’s Montreal’s only remaining grand department store of the type one used to find in most larger North American and European cities. Perhaps, the designers will take some cues from the Holt Renfrew-Ogilvy project down the street: the renderings show clear, open windows and the removal of that hideous canopy over the ground floor displays.
Though the MAA condominium tower is an example of the façade-ism cited in the Le Devoir article, I agree that it is from a design-aesthetic standpoint another better than average project. Behind the propped-up wall, it preserves parts of the old building while essentially rebuilding the place from the inside out. The proposal is similar in that respect to what was done to the Ritz-Carlton a decade ago.