Place des Canotiers: Parkade, Artifact Wall, and Public Realm
Quebec City,
QC
Award Category:
Urban Architecture
Lead Firm: DAOUST LESTAGE + ABCP
Completion: June 2017
Commissioned by the Government of Quebec, this project sits at the edge of the St. Lawrence River where cruise ships arrive in Old Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A multidisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, industrial and graphic designers transformed a surface parking lot into Old Quebec’s largest public space.
The square is defined by an elegant parking structure and a feature wall inspired by wooden wharves of the past. A stairway leads to a cantilevered lookout. Water jets and misting pavers evoke the river.
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Photo: Stephane Groleau
Photo: Stephane Groleau
Photo: Stephane Groleau
Photo: Daoust Lestage
Photo: Jean-Philippe Labrie
“You couldn’t pick a much more challenging site nor imagine a better design solution. The resulting design replaces a hideous surface parking lot with a welcoming waterfront entrance to the city. The team clearly understood the role of foreground’ and background design elements and the need to stitch together this modern intervention with the surrounding historic and landscape context. “