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Esplanade Tranquille du Quartier des Spectacles
By : Les Architectes FABG
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture : Grand Winner
Categories : Public Building / Sports & Leisure Building : Platinum Winner
Categories : Public Building / Institutional Building : Platinum Winner
The Esplanade Tranquille constitutes the last phase of the project to develop the public spaces of the west pole of the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal. Its name pays tribute to the Librairie Tranquille, once located on the site, an important place in the contemporary history of Quebec since it was here that the Refus global manifesto was launched in 1948.
Located at a nerve center of the city center, at the junction of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Sainte-Catherine Street, the esplanade has a complementary vocation to that of the Place des Festivals by offering citizens a refrigerated ice rink in winter and a little greenery and freshness in summer. A varied program of shows and activities makes it a place of relaxation and entertainment all year round, energizing the process of transformation of the city center which is becoming more and more a living environment inhabited in a diversified way and the construction of new apartment buildings adjacent to this new public space proves it.
Per the Quartier des spectacles development plan, the esplanade includes a linear service building perpendicular to Sainte-Catherine Street bordering a public square. This public square host shows during the festivals that follow one another in summer and turns into a refrigerated ice rink as soon as the first cold weather arrives. To facilitate these transformations, public furniture including chairs, tables, umbrellas, braziers, planting bins, service kiosks, fences, stage and mobile games are stored in the basement and deployed as needed.
The integration of the esplanade into the Quartier des spectacles project was done by implementing the materials and elements of urban furniture characteristic of the first phases already completed. White prefabricated concrete, gray granite paving, floor lamps, white aluminum cladding panels and red colour accents contribute to clearly marking the belonging of the project to the Neighborhood by respecting the vision that gave birth to it.
The volume of the linear building has been segmented into three spaces separated by terraces and largely fenestrated, analogous to the inhabited shop windows that line the Place des festivals. These three boxes located upstairs containing public relaxation areas have a solid wood structure evoking the reassuring and warm atmosphere of a chalet while overlooking the ice rink and the public space.
The choice of a wooden frame also results from a desire to set an example for sustainable development. Thus, the energy required for the ice rink and the building is supplied by a network of geothermal wells, all the heat released by the pumps of the refrigeration system is recovered, and the roofs are covered with a garden roof producing herbs and vegetables used by the restaurateur, etc…
The ground floor has completely retractable glass walls to open onto the esplanade in summer. Thus, the restaurant can be extended on the terrace in the public space and the skate rental room is transformed into a pop-up type business to contribute to the vitality of the place throughout the year.
A large warehouse in the basement allows you to store all the urban furniture and equipment that are used to hold various events in the Quartier des Spectacles. Two freight elevators and a closed landing stage facilitate the logistics of this permanent transformation process.
The project is the result of a multidisciplinary work coordinated by the architect involving engineers, landscape architects, interior designers, industrial designers, scenography consultants and lighting designers to produce a public space enriched by this collaborative process.
The very high attendance of the Quiet Esplanade during the pandemic, despite the unsettled weather conditions, illustrates the need to adapt the center of our cities to the new expectations of citizens. The Red Light sector, once known for its bars and other infamous establishments, is being reborn by now offering a safe, pleasant and inclusive living environment. The Quiet Esplanade makes use of the experience accumulated over the years since the development of the International District and then the Quartier des Spectacles. At the heart of this transformation is the implementation of a strategy that consists in developing quality public spaces that cause, by ripple effect, a real estate revitalization on its outskirts.
Passive urban planning that is content to regulate the density and the choice of coatings is not enough to build a city. We are pleased to have been able to make our contribution to the implementation of a more generous and transformative vision that is proving more necessary than ever to face the challenges posed by the sudden weakening of the tertiary sector ecosystem.
Collaboration
Engineering : Petropoulos, Bomis et Associés
Landscape Architecture : Fauteux et associés
