[fulcrum]
o n i m o D e tat
Can
t Hall Tom Arban Farley and d Concer n a er, Denis t m r ra C A c ar n by M Canadia hotography
d uebec an Q f o n io avil Bourgie P f Fine
o al Museum
Montre Roy + Associes
Arts
P
r
Provenche
In a world of unrelenting austerity, and with space an increasingly rare commodity in our
The commission presented the usual challenges that come with ‘updating’ an old building,
ever-crowded urban centres, ‘adaptive reuse’ is fast becoming the buzz phrase of the
to wit: respecting the original architecture, working within the restrictions imposed due to
architectural lexicon. (That, and ‘Anything doing in China?’, of course.) So when the Montreal
its ‘listed’ status, and yet trying to maximise its potential. Thus the exterior was cleaned
Museum of Fine Arts, which has been around for over 150 years, needed to expand,
and faithfully restored, whist the interior was transformed into its new use. The concert hall
adaptive reuse was seen as the natural solution to the institute’s spatial problems.
comprises a stage and two tiers of seating: at grade seats are arranged in semi-circles whilst in the level above the seating snakes around the rear of the hall in soft curves. All of which
Step forward Provencher Roy and Associes, the local architects who were given the brief of
is hued in neutral tones. The church’s stained-glass windows have been retained. Stage
turning the nave of an Erskine and American Church, a Neo-Romanesque structure built in
lighting has been suspended from the ceiling and attached to walls in a manner that is as
1894 and designated a heritage site in 1998, into a 444-seat concert hall.
unobtrusive as possible.
hinge 207_86
hinge 207_88
Then again, no renovation project of note is complete without a spot of new build, that must-have opportunity for architects to demonstrate that ‘new’ can be juxtaposed with ‘old’. Says Claude Provencher: “Nowadays I think we have to ensure meaningful integrations of buildings… Such attempts must be contemporary, yet respectful and characteristic of their time. The example of the Pavilion incorporating the Erskine and American Church belongs to this new trend.”
And so, out of one side of the church emerges a thoroughly contemporary and functional volume – though it has been given a Vermont white marble facade to take the edge of all that in-your-face modernity… an attempt to help it blend in with the adjacent church’s rusticated grey-limestone-and-sculpted-brown-Miramichi-sandstone exterior. Indeed, 1,500 sheets of marble were cut from 27 successive slabs from the same New England quarry so that the ‘veins’ of the stones formed a coherent pattern; the same stonework appears on other buildings belonging to the museum. “The marble isn’t installed on the facade like a skin, but like actual clothing,” clarified lead architect Matthieu Geoffrion (with a sense of ‘There is a difference, you know’). However, the extension is essentially an angular glass-and-concrete block, and it feels somewhat incongruous in this setting, all that carefully selected masonry notwithstanding. Were it to stand alone, it might be viewed much more positively, for it is a well-designed structure, pleasing to the eye.
Things improve once you step inside. The rooms are sweeping, bright and fresh, with glass walls and skylights bringing in natural light – and offering an upgraded museum experience for visitors to the six-level 19,000sq-ft space that houses 600 pieces of Canadian art. The colour palette is varied, and each internal zone seems different from the next. In the basement there is a subterranean gallery that links the extension and the church.
The balancing act between the real need to maximise the functionality of buildings in our densely populated cities and our desire to preserve our heritage is an architectural perennial. This project clearly attempts to strike the right equilibrium. And although the new-build annex is jarring when viewed in its context, its interior is breezy, and the renovation of the church is spectacular. Europe, in particular, is overflowing with unused places of worship, as the number of people attending service dwindles evermore. Ergo, ‘adaptive reuse’ looks set to remain an in-vogue phrase for some time yet.