CHEVALIER MORALES ARCHITECTES . photos: © CHEVALIER MORALES ARCHITECTES
The original architecture competition required to mix in a single space, the large volume of the Wesley Temple, a variety of programmatic uses, including a public library, exhibition spaces, creative studios as well as reading and writing spaces. The commission included the renovation of the Wesley temple itself, a patrimonial church located in the UNESCO classified Old City of Quebec.
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Multiple paths to freedom
An appendix of strangely familiar proportions
Given the importance of programmatic requirements and the difficulties for he public to access the main areas of the Wesley temple, it became necessary, in the spirit of offering a variety of moments releasing a strong sense of freedom, to move part of the program in a new annex located outside the affected areas of the temple (a solution that was not originally envisioned by the creators of the institution). This strategy, in addition to make construction easier and more efficient, has allowed the opening of the Wesley temple and ensured the maintenance and restoration of the original spatiality of the building. Positioning spiral stairs and opening the floor between Level 0 and Level 1 were the only interventions performed in order to emphasize openness and the verticality of the space thus establishing a holistic sense of place.
Partially transparent and having strangely familiar proportions, this new appendix first allows to provide an open and contemporary face to the Institut Canadien de Québec. The main entrance is now done in a natural way at the bottom of the slope of the Chaussée des Écossais, and the floor sits in continuity with Saint-Stanislas Street. Beyond the large retaining wall pierced for the occasion, an English courtyard gives access to the main reception areas.
Also, the program distribution within the institution maintains a lot of access, especially through the main door of the temple or within the parking from which it is possible to re-enter the Annex. All these accesses merge towards the large opening in the floor and the moving chandelier, which constitute the core of the building by connecting the bistro, both exhibitions and collections. This appendix, with its dialectical relation to the original temple brings the institution into the 21st century in the era of digital books and poems on Twitter. Multiple spaces are dedicated to creation in its upper floors. From a symbolic point of view, the idea of putting creative spaces outside the temple while maintaining a close connection with it, appeared like an appropriate gesture.
Context / urban design componements
The Maison de la Littérature is part of the rich history of the Old City of Quebec. The site is part of UNESCO’s World Heritage and integrating a new construction in this environment was an important challenge. The design of the project was carried out taking into account the rich history of archeological research done in the Old City. The Wesley Temple, a first example of Gothic Revival church in the city of Quebec, has often changed its vocation through the ages since it was built by the architect Edward Staveley in 1845. It first moved from a protestant church to two consecutive generations of auditoriums, to a public library established on the lower floor only while the main floor remained closed for several years. Reconstructing the spatial memory of the space, not only from the original church but also from the auditoriums and the library remains to this date the most delicate challenge of the project. The implantation of the new expansion has also been carefully studied in order to preserve the temple’s presence as a civic center while moving the main entry point of the building on its side. The annex is sufficiently present to signify the entrance, while never overshadowing the presence of the temple as a major civic place. The annex tries to provides a timeless piece of architecture; a precious glass jewel worthy of being included alongside these historic urban landscapes.
Innovation in addressing program / and / or the client’s requirements
Our main gesture was to move the creative program into a new annex, providing extra space within the temple. Given the rather small footprint of the new building and the limitation of existing space in the old Temple, fitting all the programmatic need into one space was a particular challenge. Exhibition spaces are located on the first floors, with a direct link toward the nearby streets. The upper floors are dedicated to creativity while the bottom floors host temporary and permanents exhibition spaces, a multipurpose room, a library and a bistro. The permanent exhibition space had to cover the whole temple area, rather than being confined into a single room. This particular requirement was carefully studied in order to mix this immersive exhibition promenade with a variety of other programmatic uses on the same floor. In other words, the whole building acts like a massive exhibition space, while hosting other type of programs like a library and a bistro.
The top floor host offices and working spaces as it will be inhabited by a writer in residence. Stacking the more public usage inside the temple and isolating the creative spaces into an independent appendix allowed a neat distinction between the urge of creativity for visiting writers and the need to exhibit and preserve cultural work as a social catalyst for Québec City.
Technical considerations through building material and / or / systems
The outer shell of the façade is made of glass panels with an underlayer of perforated brass sheets. The glass and brass panels are coupled together like a double skin. This particular detail allows the building envelope to shine like a golden brass box contained inside a protective glass layer. The project also includes masonry restoration of the original temple stones which added an extra layer of complexity.
These considerations required a high-skilled technical expertise to achieve the junction between the existing church and the new appendix. The new building connects gently with the neighboring temple. Existing windows of the temple are extended with a system of bridges to link together the two entities. Moreover, the original windows of the church had to be restored. This was a particular challenge since it is one of the few examples of the mix of a stone mullion on the outside and a wood mullion inside.
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MAISON DE LA LITTÉRATURE DE L’INSTITUT CANADIEN DE QUÉBEC
