Feds plan Old Montreal courthouse
The federal government is putting up a ten‑storey courthouse in Old Montreal, but there’s been no revelation to the public of what it’s going to look like.
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Nicholas 10:49 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
Were any of the people worried about historic character saying anything over the sixty-four (64) years that this site was a surface parking lot?
Ian 11:29 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
That doesn’t mean that the unique opportunity to build something appropriate to the quartier shoudl be ignored.
bumper carz 12:23 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
Like Nicholas, I am extremely happy that this parking lot will soon disappear like so many other have in the last 20 years. Every parking lot is an atrocity.
DeWolf 12:34 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
“Ottawa n’a pas à respecter la législation provinciale ou la réglementation municipale dans ses projets de construction.”
There was a discussion about this on Agora when this project broke ground. I think a lot of people are surprised to learn the federal government can simply bypass the local planning process, and especially surprised that they haven’t revealed even so much as a rendering.
I doubt anyone thinks it’s a bad idea to build a 10-storey courthouse at this location. It’s a very appropriate function for this particular space. But it’s also a prime spot next to a number of significant buildings, in an architecturally sensitive part of town. What if the feds throw up a vinyl-sided monstrosity? I wouldn’t put it past them to build something that looks like it belongs in suburban Ottawa, and then we’ll be stuck with an absolute eyesore in one of the best-looking parts of town.
Say what you will about the modernist buildings around there, but 500 Place d’Armes and the Palais de Justice were designed with care, and they have a lot to recommend them, even if some people find them distasteful simply because they’re modernist. But the risk here isn’t a modern intrusion, it’s a cheap pile of garbage built by penny-pinching bureaucrats.
Blork 13:48 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
10 stories isn’t a problem for this site, as the existing buildings east and west of the site are all 10-11 stories. But yes, it would be nice to know what they expect it to look like.
DeWolf mentions 500 Place d’Armes, which is indeed a beautiful building, well designed and a fine example of the International style. By today’s standards it is out of place in its environment, but when it was being designed in the early- mid-sixties the thinking was more future-facing than past-facing. There wasn’t much emphasis on historical preservation at the time; it was all about progress and moving towards a modern future.
Was that a mistake? I sure seems like it now (and when the building was completed there was an outcry from some sectors, but how serious or widespread those objections were I cannot say).
That said, I think it it highly unlikely that the new Federal Court will be some modern or post-modern monolith. The bigger danger is that it will be designed to fit into the surroundings, but badly. As in, tacky and with cheesy flourishes.
My opinion is in favour of a simple design that fits in terms of scale and materials with a few nods to the neighbouring buildings. In other words, it would be nice if it were designed to blend in instead of stand out. Especially since this is a federal building in the middle of Quebec’s largest city.
DeWolf 14:46 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
I think the bigger problem here is that it’s all being done in secret. That’s what makes people nervous. If they were building something worthwhile, wouldn’t they want to share the renderings?
Nicholas 15:27 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
I wasn’t saying we shouldn’t consider aesthetics, but the time for that is probably passed. The RFP went out four years ago, and surely planning started earlier. The time to be lobbying for this was half a decade ago. And if the Montreal community wasn’t able to get the ear of this government, which had a PM, Justice Minister, Heritage Minister and many other ministers from the island (as well as the current minister in charge of procurement being from Old Quebec), that is much more worrying than anything they might put up on this one lot. Dinu, get out your rolodex!
As well, it’s common for higher levels of governments to be unconstrained by lower levels. You don’t want projects of regional or national importance to be stopped by a local zoning board.
qatzelok 18:37 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
@DeWolf: “What if the feds throw up a vinyl-sided monstrosity?”
We would then all vote “YES” in the next referendum – for heritage protection.
CE 19:24 on 2024-05-08 Permalink
Considering the ugly and relatively out of place building the city approved at Notre-Dame and St-Jean, I doubt having municipal approval would make much of a difference for the aesthetics of this building. Who knows, maybe having a building pushed through without city oversight will result in a nice building for once!
Em 10:46 on 2024-05-09 Permalink
They can’t possibly build something uglier or more out of character to the neighbourhood than the Palais de Justice.