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Place Pasteur-UQAM
By : Affleck de la Riva | Lemay
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Landscape & Territories
Categories : Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture - Public Space : Silver Certification
Categories : Landscape Architecture / Pedestrian Street / Shared Street : Gold Certification
Located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, the Place Pasteur-UQAM sector is an important institutional hub of Montreal’s central Ville-Marie Borough. As part of the requalification of the district, the City of Montreal identified four outdoor areas accessible to the public and the two streets surrounding them. Place Pasteur, the Courtyard of the Saint-Jacques Bell Tower, the South Transept Garden and the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Forecourt have been redesigned to form a unified and coherent whole.
Realized jointly by the City of Montreal and UQAM, this ambitious public space project revitalizes the heart of the Latin Quarter, reaffirming its vocation and identity and improving its comfort and safety. In addition to the four refurbished public spaces, the portion of St-Denis Street between De Maisonneuve and Ste-Catherine, and Ste-Catherine Street between Berri Street and St-Denis Street were excavated to replace underground public services (water, sewers, electrical and telecommunications infrastructure).
In order to enhance the dynamism and accessibility of outdoor spaces, the project highlights culture, knowledge and green amenities, while providing visual unity. The following spaces have been refurbished:
- Place Pasteur and the Courtyard of the St. Jacques Bell Tower: Facing each other across St.-Denis Street, these two spaces forge links between the Athanase-David Pavilion, the Judith-Jasmin Building and the Saint-Jacques Bell Tower. Place Pasteur has long been considered as the forecourt of the historic Saint-Jacques Ch The project maintains and strengthens this spatial continuum.
- South Transept Garden: Located on the north side of Ste-Catherine Street, this green space invites pedestrian traffic to interact with the dramatic south façade of the historic St. Jacques Church.
- Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Forecourt: Located on the south side of Ste. Catherine Street, this mineral surface links the historic Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel and the Hubert-Aquin Pavilion to the pedestrian traffic of the street.
- Urban Links: The sidewalks St-Denis and Ste-Catherine Streets weave together the four refurbished public spaces and St-Denis becomes a shared street.
As well as interventions on ground level, the project connects the sidewalk of St-Denis Street to the UQAM Metro, one level below the street. A new public stair is installed in the St. Jacques Bell Tower and leads to the metro level below. A sunken garden floods this lower level with natural light.
The management of existing vegetation and the introduction of complimentary vegetation was an important part of the project. Mature trees in Place Pasteur and the South Transept Garden were conserved, pruned, and rehabilitated. New trees were planted on the sidewalks of Ste-Catherine and St-Denis Streets. Certain smaller trees in the South Transept Garden were transplanted to the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Forecourt in order to reveal the magnificent South Transept facade.
The design of mineral surfaces is based on the deployment of classic paving stones to form a continuous finish that unifies the disparate outdoor spaces. Like a large carpet, the herringbone pattern of concrete pavers is edged with granite curbs and retaining walls. Pavers cross St-Denis Street to blur the distinction between zones reserved for vehicular and pedestrian traffic to facilitate safe street sharing. Rich in architectural history, the sector is reinforced by this simple, continuous mineral surface.
The urban lighting strategy was designed to improve the experience of pedestrians and to highlight the rich architectural heritage of the sector and the mature trees. Buildings dating from different architectural periods that act as backdrops to the refurbished public spaces are illuminated by a series of mast-mounted and in-ground spotlights. General and atmospheric lighting are provided by streetlamps and wall-mounted projectors.
Collaboration
