Les architectes FABG
Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles stands out among North American theatre districts with its innovative use of outdoor spaces for free, year-round artistic events. The last phase of Daoust Lestage’s ambitious masterplan to manage and develop the district’s network of public spaces is FABG’s Esplanade Tranquille.
The project transforms a 5,000-square-metre vacant lot at the corner of St. Catherine and Clark Streets into an all-season public space. A linear service building borders the Esplanade, while the main plaza is occupied by an outdoor concert area in summer festival season and a refrigerated skating rink in the winter. On the north side, a section of the plaza accommodates a mobile stage. Moveable planters and furniture invite activity into the plaza, while allowing for easy conversion into an open-air performance venue. Completing the composition, trees planted at the perimeter limit the heat island effect.
The service pavilion is an assemblage of CLT wood boxes over a post-and-beam concrete plinth. Folding glass walls open the building’s ground floor to the plaza, and allow access to heated terraces on the first floor. The building also includes a green roof planted with an herb and vegetable garden used for the Esplanade’s restaurant. Geothermal wells under the rink’s surface provide energy to heat and cool the building, and waste heat is recaptured from the compressors of the rink’s refrigeration system.
CLIENT City of Montreal | ARCHITECT TEAM Éric Gauthier (FRAIC), Marc-Antoine Fredette, Amandine Mortka, Vincent Désy, Steve Montpetit, Catherine Doyon-Couturier, Pierre Joly, Giselle Bouron, Roberto Pareja, Anna Kreplak | CONTRACTOR TEQ Inc. | LANDSCAPE Fauteux et associés | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/CIVIL/STRUCTURAL WSP | REFRIGERATION Petropoulous, Bomis et Associés | URBAN FURNITURE Alto Design and Dikini | INTERIORS Zébulon Perron | THEATRE Sceno plus | AREA 4,959 m2 (Interior); 5,400 m2 (exterior) | COMPLETION January 2022
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
PHOTO - Steve Montpetit
Esplanade Tranquille is a very well executed all-season space that becomes a collective gathering space for the active public to congregate. The design team's collaboration is apparent in the flow between interior and exterior spaces and the animated level of activity day and night. This once derelict space has been transformed and brought to life with its moveable planters and furniture and vibrant, year-round activities. The idea of a metropolis with a diverse and rich central public place combining exterior and interior spaces is a visionary innovation worth recognizing.
National Urban Design Awards Jury 2024