society for the study of architecture in canada ... - SEXTONdigital

SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE IN CANADA/SOCIETE POUR L'ETUDE DE L'ARCHITECTURE AU CANADA 

VOLUME/TOME 13 SEPTEMBER 1988 SEPTEMBRE NUMBER!NUMERO 3

Society for the Study of 

Architecture in Canada 

President 

MarkFram 

221 Russell Hill Road, No. 302 

Toronto, Ontario, M4V ID 

Past President 

Douglas Franklin 

30 Renfrew Avenue 

Ottawa, Ontario, KlS 1Z5 

Vice-President 

Stuart Lazear 

National Capital Commission 

161 Laurier Avenue West 

Ottawa, Ontario, KIP 6J6 

Treasurer 

Julie Harris 

213 Cobourg Avenue 

Ottawa, Ontario, KIN 8H9 

Secretary 

Neil Einarson 

754 Mulvey Avenue 

Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 1H7 

Bulletin Editor 

Gordon Fulton 

Heritage Canada 

P.O. Box 1358, Stn. B 

Ottawa, Ontario, KIP 5R4 

Members-at-large (east to west) 

Charles Henley 

8 Battery Road 

St. John's, Newfoundland, AlA 1A4 

Richard Mackinnon 

89 Cottage Road 

Sydney, Nova Scotia, BlP 2C9 

Dr. C. W. Eliot 

University of Prince Edward Island 

550 University Avenue 

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, CIA 4P3 

Allen Doiron 

Provincial Archives 

P.O. Box 6000 

Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5Hl 

Howard Shubert 

Canadian Centre for Architecture 

1440 St. Catherine Street W., 2nd floor 

Montreal, Quebec, H3G lRB 

Anne M. de Fort-Menares 

100 Quebec Avenue, Ste 608 

Toronto, Ontario, M6P 4B8 

Jim Johnson 

185 Waverley Street 

Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 3K4 

Frank Korvemaker 

Saskatchewan Parks, Recreation and Culture 

1942 Hamilton Street 

Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P 3V7 

Diana Kordan 

Historic Sites Service, Alberta Culture 

Old St. Stephen's College 

8820 112 Street 

Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2P8 

Edward Mills 

701 - 1133 Melville Street 

Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4E5 

Don Lovell 

Public Works and Highways 

Government of Northwest Territories 

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, XlA 2L9 

res. (416) 961-9956 

office (613) 237-1867 

res. 236-5395 


res. 7414233 


res. (613) 233-0932 

office (204) 9454390 

res. 284-8783 · 


(709) 765-5683 



res. 485-1542 

res. 769-6862 


res. 452-0377 


res. 586-1405 

office ( 403) 427-2022 

res. 431-2344 



ISSN No. 0228-0744 

Indexed in the Canadian Periodicals Index 

COVER: Evans St-Gelais et Femand Tremblay, Saint-Raphael, Jonquiere, 

Quebec 1959-1960. Nef (Photo: Claude Bergeron). 

Editor's Desk 

After more than five years of editing the Society for the Study of Architecture 

in Canada's Bulletin, Don Lovell has passed the editor's torch (or, more 

accurately, his stubby red pencil) to me. I have been a faithful reader of the 

Bulletin for many years. I am now presented with the challenge of continuing 

the always informative, often entertaining and occasionally provocative 

format developed by Don over the years. I hope I am up to the task. I'll count 

on you readers, the heart and soul of the SSAC, to keep me true to the course 

so ably set by Don. 

Lest you think old editors simply fade away, it is my pleasure to announce 

that Don Lovell will represent the Northwest Territories as a member-at-large 

for the SSAC. The new Board of Directors, elected in May in Vancouver, appears 

to the left of this column, along with the SSAC's members-at-large. 

For those interested in the SSAC's excellent slide sets on the architecture 

of Alberta or Manitoba, these are now both available from: 

SSAC Executive Secretary 

P.O. Box 2302, Station D 

Ottawa, Ontario 

K1P5W5 

Gordon Fulton 

Membership fees are payable on 1 January 1989 at the following rates: 

Student, $10.00; Individual/Family, $20.00; Organization/Corporation/Institution, 

$30.00; Patron, $20.00 (plus a donation of not less than 

$100.00). There is a surcharge of $5.00 for all foreign memberships. 

Contributions over and above membership fees are welcome, and are 

tax-deductible. Please make your cheque or money order payable to the 

SSAC and send to Box 2302, Sation D, Ottawa, Ontario KlP 5W5. 

L'abonnement annuel est payable le premier janvier 1989 aux prix 

suivantes : etudiant, 10,00 $; individuelffamille, 20,00 $; organisationfsocietefinstitut, 

30,00 $; bienfacteur, 20,00 S (plus un don d'au 

moins 100,00 $). II y a des frais additionnels de 5,00 S pour les 

abonnements etrangers. Les contributions au dessus de l'abonnement 

annuel sont acceptees et deductible d'impilt. Veuillez s.v.p. faire le 

cheque ou mandai de poste payable a l'ordre de SEAC et envoyer a 

C.P. 2302, Succursale D, Ottawa (Ontario) KlP 5W5. 

BULLETIN 

Volume/Tome 13, Number/Numero 3 

QUEBEC ISSUE 

A Note from the Editors/Note des redacteurs 

Howard Shubert and/et Robert Lemire ....................................... 3 

Chateau Vaudreuil and its Architect Gaspard-Joseph 

Chaussegros de Lery 

by John Bland ............................................................................... 5 

Le Modernisme venu du Nord: les eglises du Saguenay 

Lac-St-Jean 

par Claude Bergeron ..................................................................... 9 

La Maison Ultramar: A Short Building 

by Donna McGee ....................................................................... 22 

SSAC Annual Meeting/SEAC congres annuel, Montreal.... 25 

2 SSAC BULLETIN SEAC 3:88

A Note from the Editors 

Note des redacteurs 

We are happy to be bringing you this special issue of the Bulletin 

devoted to Quebec architecture on the eve, as it were, of the coming 

year's annual conference in Montreal. We hope that the articles that 

follow will whet the appetites of SSAC members and induce them to 

make the trip to Montreal next April. 

The conference promises to be special and exciting for many 

reasons. First and foremost of these is our collaboration with the 

Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) who will be holding their 

annual conference simultaneously with our own at another Montreal 

hotel. Registration for one conference automatically entitles you to 

attend the sessions of the other. SAH programmes will be included 

in your registration packages to help you plan your day's events. 

Those with a particular interest in preservation issues will want to 

attend the day-long colloquium scheduled for 12 April, immediately 

preceding the SAH and SSAC conferences. Entitled "Infill Design 

and/or Facadism" this colloquium, sponsored jointly by the SSAC, 

SAH and Heritage Montreal, will consist of presentations by four 

speakers in the morning followed by an afternoon walking tour 

designed to illustrate the morning's theme in a local context. Further 

details and registration information will follow. 

A preliminary schedule of the SSAC conference appears elsewhere 

in this issue but we want to highlight points of particular interest 

here. The Grand Hotel, site of this year's conference, should 

provide a congenial atmosphere for our meeting. Special room rates 

will be in effect and you are encouraged to book early. The Friday 

night reception at the Canadian Centre for Architecture will be an 

event not to be missed. Participants will have the chance to meet with 

SSAC and SAH members, tour the CCA's premises, including the 

renovated Shaughnessy House, and preview the CCA's inaugural exhibitions. 

If all of this doesn't entice you to Montreal in April then consider 

one final inducement: it should be possible to visit two architectural 

landmarks in their full glory. We refer of course to the Montreal 

Forum, home of the Canadiens, and the Olympic stadium, host to the 

Expos. Both teams should be in action during our conference. 

This issue of the Bulletin features three articles that span 

chronologically the architectural history of Quebec. John Bland's 

piece on the Chateau Vaudreuil brings to life a long lost building. 

Through his admirable analysis of the drawings and his capable 

scholarship we gain an understanding of the design of this important 

eighteenth century building and catch a glimpse of it in action- from 

vestibule to privies. Professor Bland also points the way to a re-evaluation 

of the Chateau Vaudreuil's architect, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros 

de Lery. 

Claude Bergeron discusses the churches built during 1955 - 1967 

in the Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean region of Northern Quebec, churches 

which were radical departures from the traditional religious architecture 

of the province. Their inventive forms, modern materials 

and white exteriors are striking when seen against the crisp blue northern 

sky of the area. 

En tant que rectacteurs en chef du Bulletin, nous sommes heureux 

de publier un numero special sur !'architecture quebecoise peu de 

temps avant le congres annuel de Ia S.E.A.C. qui aura lieu a Montreal. 

Nous esperons que les articles de ce numero aiguiseront Ia curiosite 

toujours insatiable de nos membres et qu'ils les inciteront a se rendre 

a Montreal en avril1989. 

Le congres promet d'etre extrement interessant, et cela a plus d'un 

titre. Rappelons tout d'abbord notre etroite collaboration avec !'association 

americaine, Ia Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), dont 

le congres annuel aura lieu au meme moment que celui de Ia S.E.A.C. 

mais dans un autre hotel de Montreal. Le fait de s'inscrire a une des 

conferences de Ia S.E.A.C. donne automatiquement le droit d'assister 

a toute autre conference presentee par Ia SAH. Pour vous aider a 

planifier votre emploi du temps, nous avons ajoute aux formulaires 

d'inscription le programme du congres de Ia SAH. 

Ceux qui s'interessent tout particulierement a Ia conservation du 

patrimoine, participeront au colloque d'une journee intitule «lnftll 

Design and/or Facadism» qui aura lieu le 12 avril, soit Ia veille des 

deux congres. Parraine par Ia SAH, Ia S.E.A.C. et Heritage Montreal, 

le colloque comporte deux volets : en avant-midi, les participants entendront 

les quatre conferenciers invites et en apres-midi, au cours 

d'une excursion a pied en ville ils decouvriront des exemples types en 

rapport avec les themes abordes pendant Ia matinee. De plus amples 

details et des renseignements sur les modalites d'inscription suivront. 

Un programme prelirninaire du prochain congres de Ia S.E.A.C. 

figure ailleurs dans ce numero mais nous aimerions souligner les 

points susceptibles de vous interesser tout particulierement. Cette 

annee, on a choisi le Grand Hotel comme siege du congres, un 

etablissement dont le cadre agreable se prete bien aux reunions. Si 

vous desirez obtenir des tarifs interessants, vous etes prie( e) de 

reserver tot. La reception du vendredi soir, qui aura lieu au Centre 

Canadien d'Architecture, est un evenement a ne pas manquer. Vous 

aurez alors Ia chance de rencontrer des membres de Ia SAH et de Ia 

S.E.A.C.; vous pourrez visiter les nouveaux batiments du CCA et en 

plus, vous aurez un apen;u des expositions inaugurates qui seront 

presentees le mois suivant. 

Si tout ce!a ne vous convainc pas d'accourir a Montreal en avril 

prochain, alors, songez a cette autre possibilite que nous vous offrons 

de visiter deux celebres batiments montrealais : le Stade olympique, 

chef-lieu des Expos et le Forum, berceau de Ia legendaire equipe des 

Canadiens. Les Canadiens et les Expos devraient jouer pendant votre 

sejour. 

Le numero du Bulletin vous offre ce mois-ci trois articles couvrant 

pour ainsi dire l'histoire chronologique de !'architecture au Quebec. 

Le professeur John Bland fait revivre pour nous le Chateau 

Vaudreuil, detroit depuis longtemps. Grace a une analyse penetrante 

des dessins d'architecture, cet erudit nous fait comprendre toute Ia 

portee d'une des realisations majeures du XVIIIe siecle et imaginer 

le chateau de fond en comble, tel qu'il eta it alors. De plus, il incite le 

lecteur a reconsiderer !'oeuvre de !'architecture du Chateau 

Vaudreuil, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery. 

3:88 SSAC BULLETIN SEAC 3

Professor Bergeron's appraisal and enlightened analysis of these 

remarkable structures takes into account the major events linked to 

the area's economic, cultural and social development that shaped this 

brief period of unprecedented creativity. He looks back to Dom Paul 

Bellot as the initiator of this era of innovative design in religious architecture 

while introducing such figures as Leonce Desgagne and 

Paul-Marie Cote, designers of many of the significant monuments that 

are discussed and illustrated. 

Finally, Donna McGee takes us into the future with her review of 

the proposed design for the head offices of Ultramar. In examining 

this project's complex site and its relationship to existing structures, 

Ms. McGee applauds Ultramar for their restraint- the building will 

rise only six storeys-and for their sensitivity to three heritage buildings 

to be incorporated into the scheme. 

Our thanks go out to all the contributors for their fine work, to 

Catherine Roberge for translation, to Christine Derouin for word 

processing and to Gordon Fulton for his enthusiasm and support. 

We wish to acknowledge our profound thanks to the Samuel and 

Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation for the grant which has made 

possible this special issue of the Bulletin. 

Robert Lemire 


Claude Bergeron ecrit sur les eglises construites de 1955 a 1967 

dans Ia region du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean et dont le style s'eloigne 

radicalement de !'architecture religieuse traditionnelle quebecoise. 

Ces eglises, toutes blanches, aux formes inventives, faites de 

materiaux modemes se detachent avec une nettete saisissante contre 

le bleu metallique du ciel nordique. L'analyse penetrante du professeur 

Bergeron de ces remarquables structures rappelle egalement les 

evenements majeurs qui ont fa~onne le developpement economique, 

culture! et social durant une breve periode d'intense creativite. II se 

penche sur !'oeuvre de Dom Paul Bellot, initiateur de ce mouvement 

createur dans !'architecture religieuse et il mentionne les Leonce 

Desgagne, Paul-Marie Cote, maitres d'oeuvre de monuments remarquables 

!esquels sont traites et illustres dans le present article. 

Enfin, le troisieme article signe par Donna McGee nous parle de 

l'avenir. Apres avoir passe en revue les conceptions projetees pour le 

siege social d'Ultramar et examine le site complexe du projet, eu egard 

aux constructions avoisinantes, Donna McGee felicite Ultramar 

d'avoir opte pour Ia sobriete-so it !'erection d'un edifice de six etages 

-et d'avoir eu l'excellente idee d'integrer a son parti architectural 

trois constructions a caractere patrimonial. 

Enfin, nous tenons a remercier tous nos collaborateurs, plus 

particulierement Catherine Roberge pour Ia traduction, Christine 

Derouin pour Ia dactylographie et Gordon Fulton pour son appui sans 

reserve et son ardeur au travail. 

Nos plus sinceres remerciements a Ia fondation Samuel et Saidye 

Bronfman sans qui Ia publication de ce numero special n'aurait pu 

etre possible. 

Robert Lemire et 


SSAC BULLETIN SEAC 3:88

Chateau Vaudreuil and its Architect Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery 

by John Bland 

•• 

Figure 1. Chateau Vaudreuil, elevation to rue St-Pau//n 1727, after Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery. (Photo: National Archives of Canada, National Map Collection 

C-37604) 

The Chateau Vaudreuil, the Montreal residence of the Governor 

of New France, stood on rue St-Paul just to the west of what is now 

Place Jacques-Cartier. Its design has been said "to remind us that a 

self-conscious classicizing French tradition coexisted in New France 

with the more widespread popular tradition." 1 Yet buildings designed 

in this manner were rare, and the architect of the Chateau Vaudreuil, 

Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery {1682-1756) appears to have 

had a hand in all of them. 

Few buildings in New France were designed and built in one sustained 

effort. Practically all were built in stages by the incremental addition 

of floors or wings; baroque principals of composition had little 

influence. Yet the opinion persisted, stimulated by at least two influential 

critics, Bacqueville de Ia Potherie and Charlevoix, that buildings 

intended to be palaces had to be properly composed. That is, 

palaces had to be balanced about an axis. If they were not, they were 

considered incomplete. Bishop St-Vallier's palace, Hopital General, 

and the Recollet Convent had similar compositions, but only the 

palace was considered incomplete. For many years Frontenac's great 

house, the Chateau St-Louis, lacked its southwest end pavilion, which 

greatly distressed its critics since, unbalanced, it had no proper 

centre. 2 Only the Intendant's palace really pleased the critics. It had 

an admirable composition, and was clearly the ideal upon which the 

Chateau Vaudreuil was modeled. 

Madame Ia marquise de Vaudreuil placed its cornerstone on May 

15, 1723. 3 Three years later, in 1726, it was certified complete as 

designed. 4 As the official residence of the Governor General, the 

house had been subsidized to some degree but, as if to avoid confusion 

on this matter, the plate in the comer-stone clearly stated that 

the house belonged to Vaudreuil. Because he intended to remain in 

Canada after his tenure as Governor, the house was expected to become 

his principal residence. But Vaudreuil died in Quebec on October 

10, 1725 and he may never have seen the completed house. His 

widow returned to France directly, and his Canadian interests, including 

the new house, passed to his fourth son Pierre de Rigaud, who 

leased it to the Crown for the use of the new Governor General. Years 

later Pierre de Rigaud occupied it himself when he became the last 

Governor of New France. The use of the chateau between 1760 and 

1773 is unclear, but in July 1773 it was purchased by the wardens of 

the parish of Notre Dame for use as a boys' school, the College St 

Raphael.5 Finally, in 1803, it was destroyed by fire. Its ruins were 

demolished in 1806, and by 1815 the site had been developed for other 

purposes and no trace of the house remained. 6 

With its elevated posture, balanced composition, and monumental 

doorway, the Chateau Vaudreuil stands in the tradition of French 

houses of the minor nobility. At the same time, its austerity and outdated, 

spiky finials betray the old-fashioned training of its author and 

the outlandish position of Montreal in the great age of French architecture. 

Chaussegros de Lery is believed to have been trained in 

Toulon about 1700 by his father, a noted military engineer. 7 He would 

have learned the basic principles of civil architecture and, like other 

engineers of his day, he would have been qualified to design barracks, 

prisons, hospitals, garrison churches, and official residences following 

standard models. After some military experience in France, Chaussegros 

was dispatched to Canada to work on fortifications. He spent 

the rest of his life here in that pursuit. 

In addition, he is known to have prepared the designs for several 

important buildings. The details of these suggest that Chaussegros 

may have been responsible for a number of other decorative facades 


I 

~ 

~=-..==.- l ... ~r==. .. 

Figure 2. Chtlteau Vaudreuil, plan of main floor in 1727, after Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lllry. (Photo: National Archives of Canada, National Map Collection 23963) 

or ornamental doorways-involving Doric or Ionic pilasters-which 

appeared about the middle of the 18th century. It seems, however, 

that his architectural experience was obtained entirely in New France. 

He made the "as built" drawings of the Intendant's palace in 1718 and 

was responsible for its reconstruction after the fire in 1721. He was 

involved in surveying, repairing, and eventually completing the 

Chateau St-Louis. Both buildings, although larger in area than 

Chateau Vaudreuil, were of the same scale. The height of the principal 

doorway of the Chateau Vaudreuil, eleven feet, was the same as 

that of the Intendant's palace; both were only slightly higher than the 

door of the Chateau St-Louis. 

While the Chateau Vaudreuil has an admirable composition, the 

surviving drawings show that this was not achieved easily. The main 

floor (figure 2) is in the form of a letter H. Although the centre portion, 

the corps de logis, has the form of a rectangle and the southwest 

wing containing the cabinet and vestibule is regular, the northeast wing 

is bent out of line by the adjoining street. The dilemma this produced 

may be seen from inconsistencies in the surviving drawings. The elevation 

to rue St-Paul (figure 1) shows that the northeast wing, to the 

right, pinched by the adjoining rue St-Charles, is narrower than the 

southwest wing to the left. This unbalanced proposal must have been 

unacceptable since all the plans show an alternate solution where the 

wings have facades of equal width. This was accomplished by allowing 

the northeast wing to overlap the corps de logis, so that only an 

adjustment to the centering of its openings was needed to preserve 

the appearance of symmetry. Perhaps a more skillful architect would 

have handled this problem with greater subtlety. However, it is also 

possible that the problem was even more complex, as the geometry 

of the corps de logis might have been established by an existing building 

on the site. Plans of Montreal by both Levasseur de Nere in 1704 

and Gedeon de Catlogne in 17'13 show a simple rectangular building 

in the exact location of the corps de logis. 

A further examination of the plans shows that the architect's concern 

for regularity extended to the garden front and to the less conspicuous 

sides. Along the northeast wing the plans of the basement 

and principal floors show indentations in the walls marking the outlines 

of blind windows. These functioned solely to satisfy the eye of 

an observer in quest of the orderly arrangement of openings one 

above the other from basement to roof. 

The basement windows have segmental heads to harmonize with 

the segmental vaults over the basement spaces. The architect 

provided string courses at the level of the window sills, rather than at 

the more traditional floor levels or at both locations. These sill level 

courses served equally well the purpose of marking the storeys and of 

tidily relating the windows horizontally. Similarly, a projecting course 

marks the quoins and the architraves of the openings. These allowed 

the walls to be neatly plastered so that there were no unprotected 

comers which might have allowed the soft, irregular crepi to break 

away. Small dormer windows with elliptical heads occur directly above 

the windows of the lower floors. This elliptical profile was ideally 

suited to be finished with hammered lead sheets, as required for slate 

roofs. Later, perhaps when the house became a college, more intensive 

use of the attic required the enlargement of these elegant small 

windows into the ungainly dormers shown in the view of the house attributed 

to Berczy by Morisette and Gowans, and to Duncan by Marsan.8 

The monumental doorway, petron, and horseshoe stairs are features 

taken directly from the Intendant's palace at Quebec, except 

that at Montreal the petron is extended on either side to meet the 

projecting wings. This enables it to serve a secondary doorway in the 

southwest wing (figure 2). A similar doorway at Quebec clumsily required 

a separate set of steps. This second doorway, in the Chateau 

Vaudreuil, may well have been intended as the day-to-day entrance 

to the house. On one of the surviving plans of the ground floor the 

room it serves is labeled vestibule. The principal door offered direct 

access to the salle, as in the arrangement of the Chateau St-Louis. 


Figure 3. Chtlteau Vaudreuil, plan of first floor in 1727, after Gaspard.Joseph Chaussegros de U§ry. (Photo: National Archives of Canada, National Map Collection 

C-60867) 

Like the great house in Quebec, the door between the salle and the 

te/Tase was on axis with the principal entrance. In Quebec, the famous 

terrace overlooked the river and a vast landscape; in Montreal, the 

terrace overlooked a walled parterre and beyond to an orchard with 

Mount Royal in the distance. In Quebec it was customary for the 

Governor's visitors to wait on the terrace until he was free. The same 

procedure may have been intended in Montreal. The doorways of the 

four principal reception rooms were arranged enfilade, as they were 

in the Chiiteau St-Louis, providing equally handsome views and clear 

routes from room to room. Corridors on the main floor were minor 

and served only the stairways and rooms in the wings. Cabinets, likely 

intended as the offices of the Governor's principal secretaries, occupied 

the ends of the wings. The garden terrace was probably made 

of wood, as is often the case in Canadian houses. The entrance terrace-the 

peiTOn and steps-was built of stone on a base, penetrated 

only by vaulted entrance vestibules leading to the basement rooms 

fronting rue St-Paul. This was a pattern used in the design of large 

stone houses in Montreal throughout the 19th century. 

The southwest wing of the basement plan beside the service courtyard 

(figure 4) comprises what appear to be two kitchens. This was 

not uncommon in houses with numerous staff (the Intendant's palace 

had two huge kitchens). The smaller of the two kitchens, labeled office, 

contained a big hearth for roasting, a bake oven that extended 

out into the yard, and a separate range of five charcoal burners. The 

larger room, labeled cuisine, contained an even bigger hearth and a 

separate range of eight burners. It had large windows on both rue St 

Paul and the service yard. Between the two kitchens was the garde 

manger, the stairway to the house above, access to the court, and the 

cave, which occupied the whole space below the salle. The uses of the 

rooms within the northeast wing are not so clear. The slope of rue St 

Charles and its proximity to the house likely prohibited windows, and 

this made the rooms less habitable. Only the front room, with windows 

looking on to rue St-Paul, had a fireplace. With a separate vestibule 

and direct access to the street, this room may have been used 

as an administrative office. The remaining rooms in this wing were 

used for storage. 

On the first floor (figure 3) all the rooms were separate, not interconnected 

as on the main floor below. Thus, a corridor was required 

across the corps de logis connecting the stairways in the wings. 

Similar to the arrangement in the Chateau St-Louis, this corridor was 

on the north side; the chambres were on the sunny side. Curiously, 

the two major rooms on the first floor were set aside for official service, 

chambre des gardes and chambre du capitaine des gardes. This 

seems an intrusion at this point in the house and leads one to wonder 

whether the subsidy, referred to above, might have been based upon 

the area and prominence of rooms devoted to official purposes. One 

notes a similar discrepancy in the unlikely placement of beds in the 

plans of hospitals whose grants depend on their count. 

The chiiteau had outdoor privies, but it also had indoor arrangements 

on both principal floors. These consisted of seats over wide 

flues located directly above a pit in the basement (labeled fosse) which 

was vented as a chimney. Properly built and maintained, these 

facilities were probably not unsatisfactory and were perhaps an improvement 

over arrangements in the houses of officials in Quebec. 

The latter were usually found in separate towers, splendidly ventilated 

but desperately cold. 

The roof of the chateau is unusual in that it had two different 

angles of inclination. Over the corps de logis the wide span had a lower 

slope than over the narrower wings. This permitted all roofs to have 

common eaves, a common ridge, and, moreover, to appear to have 

consistent slopes, since only the roofs over the wings could be seen in 

profile. This arrangement appears to be similar to a system used in 

Quebec churches, where transept roofs were raised to interrupt and 

conceal the differences in roof slopes over wide naves and narrow 

chancels. These differences had hitherto caused weird situations when 

3:88 SSAC BULLETIN SEAC

Figure 4. Chateau Vaudreuil, plan of basement In 1727, after Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery. (Photo: National Archives of Canada, National Map Collection 

C-60866) 

regular roof lines were desired. But there is no evidence that Chaussegros 

de Lery played any part in this, possibly parallel, development. 

Chaussegros de Lery died in 1756, but that did not save him from 

becoming a scapegoat, along with Pierre de Rigaud and others, three 

years later. Many people were blamed for the loss of New France. 

Those who lived had a chance to defend and gradually regain their 

reputations. But those who were dead had no defense. As a military 

engineer, Chaussegros was popularly condemned as incompetent, as 

an architect mediocre. Even two centuries later, Ramsay Traquair's 

assessment, quoted by Chaussegros' biographer F. J. Thorpe, seems 

unnecessarily harsh: "If the front of Notre Dame is to be taken as a 

good example of his quality as an architect, his knowledge and designing 

abilities were very slight indeed. " 9 Traquair had little appreciation 

for self-conscious classicizing ideas in architecture. A craftsman's eye 

drew his attention to skilled masonry, carpentry, joinery, and wellwrought 

iron; exquisitely carved pine furniture and fittings were what 

he most enjoyed. Moreover, the palaces, the chiiteaux, and, one must 

add, the facade of Notre Dame had long disappeared when Traquair 

explored the architecture of Quebec. And what is most important, 

Chaussegros de Lery's drawings have only recently appeared. 

Now seems the time for a more generous view of Chaussegros de 

Lery, accepting that he was neither highly trained nor especially experienced, 

and that he worked in isolation. One must give him due 

credit for stressing simple principles of order in prominent buildings 

and, where appropriate, using a little classical ornament to civilize 

them. 

Endnotes 

1 Christina Cameron, "Housing in Quebec Before Confederation, • The Journal of 

Canadian Art History, Vol. VI, No.1, 1982, pp. 1-34. 

2 Claude Charles Le Roy Bacqueville de Ia Potherie, Histoire dL /'Amerique Septentrionale 

(Paris, 1753, reprint of 1722 edition), Vol. 1, pp. 233-234. La Potherie 

called the Bishop's palace a great building in which the chapel ought to form the 

centre. He added, almost subconsciously, that few episcopal palaces would be its 

equal when finished. 

Pierre-Fran~ois-Xavier de Charlevoix, Joumal of a Voyage to North America [in 

English] (Dublin, 1766), Letter III, Quebec, October 28, 1720, p. 31. Charlevoix 

complained that although the Cbiiteau St-Louis was a line building, it was intended 

to have advanced pavilions at both ends, but only one had been built. 

3 Robert Lahaise, Les edifices conventuels du Vieux Montreal, p. 302, note 26, 

"!'inscription trouvee le 15 mai 1806, so us le premiere Pierre de !'angle sud-est de 

!'ancien chateau Vaudreuil: 

Cette Pierre 

a este posee par Dame Louise-Elizabeth Jouabere 

Femme de haut et puissant Seigneur 

PHILIPPE DE RIGAUD 

Chevalier, Marquis de Vaudreuil, 

Grand Croix de St-Louis, 

Gouverneur 

Lieutenant Glmeral pour le Rei de toutle Ia 

Nouvelle France Septentrionale 

en 1723, le 15 may 

Sept maison appartien a Monsieur le 

Marquis de Vaudreuil." 

4 Certified survey of bouse and grounds, Archives Nationales C7 No. 340 Dossier 

Vaudreuil (author's translation): 

July 17, 1726, we, Jean-Baptiste Angers and Rene Berouagne, land surveyors appointed 

by M. Lepre representing the King: we visited the house and grounds of 

M. le Marquis de Vaudreuillocated in Montreal; we found the area was U111/4 

Ioise, including courtyards, flowerbeds, fruit gardens and kitchen gardens; and the 

other site, a dependence of the property opposite the house on the St. Lawrence 

River side, we found to be U4 Ioise: all corresponding to the plan we have drawn 

and certify to be true, in witness whereof we have signed on the above date at 

Montreal. 

5 Robert Lahaise, p. 302, note 25. 

6 See Joseph Bouchette's plan of Montreal, 1815. 

7 For information about Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Ury see the biographical 

essay by F. J. Thorpe, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. III, pp. 116-119. 

B See Gerard Morisette, L 'arr:hitecture en Nouvelle France, pl. 35a; Alan Gowans, 

Building Canada, pl. 24; Jean-Claude Marsan, Montreal in Evolution, pl. B. 

9 F. J. Thorpe, DCB, Vol. III, p. 118. 


Figure 1. Adrien Dufresne, Sainte-Therese-de-Lisieux, Beauport, 1936. Net (Photo: auteur). 

Le Modernisme veno do Nord: les eglises do Sagoenay-Lac-Saint-Jean 

par Claude Bergeron 

Entre 1955 et environ 1967, Ia region du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean 

a etonne les milieux architecturaux quebecois par le modemisme le 

plus radical de ses eglises. Leurs architectes se sont plusieurs fois 

merite des decorations nationales, dont Ia Medaille Massey. Ces 

eglises ont retenu !'attention non seulement des specialistes, mais 

aussi du public en general. Tous les visiteurs etaient frappes par 

!'au dace et par !'eclat de ces constructions, presque toujours blanches, 

qui se dressent ici et Ia dans le ciel clair de cette region nordique. A 

cause des eglises de ces quelque douze annees, le Saguenay-Lac 

Saint-Jean est alors apparu comme/un centre majeur de creation architecturale. 

Avec Ia region montrealaise, il a alors donne au Quebec 

les oeuvres les plus rajeunies, les premieres oeuvres a adopter aussi 

resolument l'esthetique du mouvement modeme, par leur legerete, 

leur simplification formelle et par !'exploitation hardie des materiaux 

nouveaux. 

Comment expliquer une telle eclosion de formes modemes dans 

une region aussi eloignee des grandes centres? Sans doute faut-il 

l'attribuer en partie au talent des architectes. Certains d'entre eux 

cherchaient resolument des formes et des solutions structurales 

nouvelles. Mais le principal responsable est, a mon avis, Ia population 

qui a fait construire ces eglises et qui a, durant un certain temps tout 

au moins, encourage ce foisonnement de formes nouvelles. Cette architecture 

religieuse, parses formes audacieuses et spectaculaires, exprimait 

une confiance et une fierte; et elle traduisant ainsi des 

caracteristiques de Ia population de meme que certaines de ses attentes. 

Groupee autour du lac Saint-Jean et de chaque cote du fleuve 

Saguenay, cette population de quelque 275 000 habitants se trouve a 

constituer une region bien delimitee qu'elle se plait a appeler le 

Royaume du Saguenay. De plus, cette region est relativement isolee 

des autres regions habitees. Une distance de 200 kilometres separe 

Chicoutimi de Ia ville de Quebec, et ce n'est que depuis 1954 qu'une 

route relie directement ces deux villes. Plusieurs caracteristiques distinguent 

Ia population de cette region de celle du reste du Quebec. 

C'est une region fortement industrialisee, les principales industries 

etant celles de !'aluminium et du papier. Elle a connu durant Ia 

demiere guerre une croissance remarquable qui s'est poursuivie apres 

le conflit. Jusqu'en 1961, le rythme de croissance de Ia population 

regionale etait superieur a celui de Ia population du Quebec en 

general. Sa population etait en meme temps Ia plus jeune du Quebec, 

!'age moyen etant 22,7 ans. Les moins de 20 ans etaient plus nombreux 

que partout ailleurs, et les plus de 65 ans moins nombreux. 

Cette population jeune est en meme temps urbaine. En 1971, 72% 


Figure 2. Edgar Courchesne, Sainte-Madeleine-sophie·Barat, Montreal, 1948·1950. Net (Photo: lnventaire des biens cu/turels). 

de Ia population vivait dans les villes. C'etait Ia region Ia plus 

urbanisee du Quebec, apres les regions de Montreal et de Quebec. 

Cette situation a favorise !'installation d'un bon nombre 

d' equipements educatifs, sociaux et culturels, et les resultats se 

~efletent dans le taux eleve de scolarisation chez les jeunes. Toujours 

d'apres le recensement de 1971, le taux de scolarisation chez les jeunes 

de 15 a 20 ans etait plus eleve au Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean que dans 

n'importe quelle autre region du Quebec. 

Non seulement Ia population y est-elle plus jeune et plus instruite 

qu'ailleurs au Quebec, mais elle est aussi plus riche. Le revenu moyen 

de Ia population non agricole y etait, selon le recensement de 1961, 

plus e!eve qu'a Quebec, Montreal et que dans !'ensemble du Quebec. 

Mais plus important encore que Ia possession de Ia richesse, c'est le 

sentiment que !'on avait d'etre riche. C'est lui qui determine 

davantage le comportement. Durant les annees 60, au Saguenay 

Lac-Saint-Jean, il importait de bien paraitre, et pour cela on n'hesitait 

pas a vivre au-dessus de ses moyens. Les compagnies de pret faisaient 

d'excellentes affaires dans Ia region. On empruntait pour s'acheter 

une maison, un chalet. Le nombre des proprietaires de chalet etait 

remarquablement eleve surtout quand on songe que les villes de Ia 

region se situent a deux pas de Ia nature Sauvage. On empruntait aussi 

pour s'acheter une automobile, une automobile de luxe. On rapportait 

souvent qu'au debut des annees 60 le nombre de Cadillacs per 

capita etait plus eleve a Chicoutimi que dans n'importe quelle autre 

ville canadienne. La fierte et un sentiment de superiorite sont des 

caracteristiques de Ia population du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Elles 

peuvent facilement trouver leur explication dans les resultats remarquables 

auxquels etaient parvenus le developpement culture! et le 

developpement economique de cette region lointaine dont Ia 

colonisation n'etait pas encore un phenomene tres ancien. 

Si Ia fierte est un trait de caractere que !'on reconnait 

generalement aux habitants de cette region, il n'apparait pas moins 

vrai que, dans les annees 60, ils se caracterisaient aussi par un manque 

d'assurance face a l'etranger. Des moyens de communication 

modemes reliaient maintenant cette region au reste de Ia province et 

au reste du pays, mais les adultes d'alors avaient grandi dans une 

region isolee physiquement qui a dfi les fa\;Onner. Un habitant de 

Chicoutimi declarait a un enqueteur en 1967 : «Les personnes nees 

ici viennent au monde avec cet isolement; celui-ci fait partie de leur 

vie >. 1 Beaucoup d'habitants n'avaient a peu pres pas de contact avec 

des personnes vivant dans d'autres regions, et manquaient 

d'assurance pour frayer avec les etrangers. D'apres le temoignage 

d'un autre Chicoutimien foumi ace meme enqueteur en 1967, ce manque 

d'assurance donnait lieu a des reactions extremes. Selon ses 

propres mots, d'une part on se croyait le nombril du monde et d'autre 

part on avait des comportements enfantins. 2 Autrement dit, Ia societe 

etait a !'age adolescent. Comme !'adolescent, elle pouvait avoir une 

attitude fanfaronne au milieu des siens et aussi au sein d'etrangers, 

mais elle etait consciente que son isolement ne l'avait pas sensibilisee 

aux problemes exterieurs et qu'illui etait par consequent difficile de 

communiquer avec l'etranger qui l'intimidait comme un adulte intimide 

un adolescent. 


Figure 3. Leonce Desgagne et Paul Boileau, chapefle de I'H6tei-Dieu Saint-Vallier, Chicoutimi, 1942-1943. tnterieur (Photo: H6tei-Dieu Saint-Vallier). 


....... .. 

• !I! • 

Figure 4. Lf!once Desgagm! et Paul Boileau, Sainte-Therese-d'Avila, Do/beau, 1946-1947. Net (Photo: auteur). 

Or, les eglises que !'on a construites au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean 

surtout entre 1955 et 1967 correspondent bien a ce double aspect du 

comportement de Ia population. Par leurs lignes elancees et leurs formes 

spectaculaires de meme que par leurs structures audacieuses, ces 

eglises refletaient bien Ia fierte des habitants, en meme temps qu'elles 

etaient aptes a leur inspirer !'assurance, Ia confiance en eux-memes 

dont ils semblaient avoir besoin. Et, comme on peut s'y attendre, ils 

ne manquerent jamais !'occasion de souligner Ia hardiesse de leur architecture 

religieuse comme preuve de leur dynamisme et de ce dont 

ils etaient capables. 

Si !'age d'or de cette nouvelle architecture se situe entre 1955 et 

1967, deja pendant la Seconde Guerre on remarque des initiatives importantes 

pour renouveler le langage forme! alors en faveur, grace a 

!'exploitation des possibilites qu'offrait le beton. A l'epoque de la 

guerre, la grande nouveaute en architecture religieuse au Quebec 

etait le style de Dom Bellot. Dom Paul Bellot est un benedictin 

fran~ais qui avait construit des eglises et des batiments monastiques 

d'abord dans l'lle de Wight, en Hollande, en Belgique et puis en 

France, avant de venir au Canada en 1936 pour poursuivre les travaux 

de l'oratoire Saint-Joseph a Montreal et commencer l'abbaye 

benedictine de Saint-Benoit-du-Lac, pres de Sherbrooke, ou il fut 

inhume en 1944. Il avait etudie !'architecture a !'Ecole des Beaux-Arts 

de Paris ou il obtint son diplome en 1901. Les principales 

caracteristiques de son architecture appartiennent a la structure et au 

decor. Dom Bellot fut, comme beau coup d'architectes de son epoque, 

fortement influence par le rationalisme structural de Viollet-le-Duc. 

Comme ce dernier, il fut inspire par les batisseurs du moyen-age, dont 

il chercha a ameliorer le systeme de construction. Il s'effor~a notamment 

de maintenir les poussees laterales de ses vofites a l'interieur de 

ses edifices, afin de ne pas avoir a les contrebuter par des constructions 

externes comme des contreforts ou des arcs-boutants. Dans ses 

edifices en brique, qui est le materiau qu'il utilisa immanquablement 

jusqu'au debut des annees 30, Dom Bellot erigea des arcs paraboliques. 

Apres cette date, il a souvent construit en beton. Il adapta Ia 

forme parabolique a Ia contrainte des coffrages en bois qui imposent 

Ia ligne droite, et il dessina alors des arcs polygonaux formes de segments 

de longueur decroissante. Le profil ainsi obtenu derive 

manifestement de !'arc parabolique dont il conserve !'elan. 


Figure 5. U!once Oesgagne et Paul Boileau, Saint-Nom-de.Jesus, 

Riviere-du-Moulin, 195Q-1951. Exterieur (Photo: auteur). 

Figure 6. Leonce Desgagne et Paul Boileau, Saint-Nom-de.Jesus, 

Riviere-du-Moulin, 195Q-1951. Net (Photo: auteur). 

Au Quebec, on a bati dans les deux manieres de Dom Bellot, a 

savoir !'arc parabolique dans !es constructions en brique et !'arc 

polygonal dans les constructions en beton (Fig.l et 2). La plupart des 

architectes se sont contentes de repeter ces formes soit integralement 

soit en insistant sur les effets decoratifs, soit encore en les simplifiant 

au point de !es priver de force et de caract ere. 

Toutefois, au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, un architecte a fait 

preuve de beaucoup d'imagination et de liberte a l'egard des formes 

de Dom Bellot pour produire des oeuvres qui en respectent les principes, 

mais qui innovent en exploitant les possibilites du bet on arme. 

Cet architecte est Leonce Desgagne. II est le seul dont les oeuvres illustrent 

toutes les phases de !'architecture religieuse de Ia region 

depuis 1940. Travaillant d'abord seul, puis associe a Paul Boileau a 

partir de 1944, il a, jusqu'au debut des annees 50, realise des oeuvres 

volontairement traditionnalistes 3 comme le reclamait alors un 

courant nationaliste tres vivant, en meme temps qu'il concevait les 

edifices religieux les plus novateurs de toute le Quebec et meme de 

toutle Canada. Par Ia suite, Desgagne fut associe a Paul-Marie Cote. 

Ensemble ils ont produit leur quote-part des eglises qui ont durant 

une douzaine d'annees fait Ia renommee du Saguenay-Lac-Saint 

Jean. 

En 1942, Desgagne construisait Ia chapelle de l'Hotel-Dieu Saint 

Vallier a Chicoutimi (Fig. 3). La structure de cette chapelle est en 

beton arme, materiau pour lequel Dom Bellot recommandait !'arc 

polygonaL L'interieur conserve le profil polygonal, mais il n'y a plus 

d'arcs a proprement parler. Contre les murs montent des piliers en 

bet on de forme triangulaire. Sur ces piliers, se posent des poutres ou 

s'appuient les chevrons en beton des deux pentes du toit. D'autres 

chevrons, disposes a 45 degres par rapport aux premiers, produisent 

avec ceux-ci des caissons profonds de formes polygonales et triangulaires. 

Les motifs polygonaux, notamment le motif forme de deux 

carres superposes et decales de 45 degres, etaient des motifs decoratifs 

typiques du style de Dom Bellot. Mais dans ce plafond, les caissons 

polygonaux sont structuraux. Les grands pans rigides qu'ils produisent 

permettent de faire disparaltre !es arcs et en meme temps d'etablir 

une relation plus directe entre Ia forme interieure et Ia forme 

exterieure de Ia chapelle. 

Desgagne et Boileau ont repete ce systeme structurale a l'eglise 

Sainte-TMrese-d'Avila a Dolbeau, en 1946 (Fig. 4). lei, cependant, 

les caissons ont une tres faible profondeur de sorte que ce sont plutot 

de minces dalles de bet on qui couvrent Ia nef. Leur resistance moins 

grande que celle des caissons de Ia chapelle de l'Hotel-Dieu explique 

aussi pourquoi les piliers sont beaucoup plus larges a leur sommet, 

de sorte que Ia coupe transversale de Ia nef se rapproche davantage 

du profil des arcs polygonaux de Dom Bellot. Mais ce ne sont toujours 

pas des arcs. Ce sont des dalles de beton paralleles aux pentes du toit 

et posees sur des piliers en beton. 

Quatre ans apres l'eglise de Dolbeau, Desgagne et Boileau construisaient 

l'eglise du Saint-Nom-de-Jesus a Riviere-du-Moulin, pres 

de Chicoutimi (Fig. 5 et 6). Sa fac;ade peut paraltre encore assez conservatrice, 

mais elle n'annonc;ait pas moins une nouveaute qu'allaient 

reprendre beau coup d'eglises des annees 50. On y trouve en effet pour 

Ia premiere fois ce traitement abstrait qui consiste a subdiviser la 

fac;ade en trois travees verticales, et a traiter Ia travee centrale comme 

une large ouverture entre deux masses so !ides. lei, les fenetres au-dessus 

du portail n'occupent pas une plus grande surface que les arcatures 

qui les encadrent, mais l'emploi de Ia brique beige contrastant 

avec Ia brique brune sur les cote revele bien un desir d'alleger le 

centre. 

C'est l'interieur cependant qui presente les plus grandes 

nouveautes, a savoir une tendance grandissante vers !'abstraction 

geometrique. Des fenetres longues et etroites subdivisent le mur en 

travees carrees. Des piliers en fer, recouverts de platre et absolument 

rectangulaires, encadrent les fenetres. lis supportent les fermes 

metalliques de Ia toiture. Elles sont recouvertes de platre acoustique 

pour former des cavites profondes, semblables a de grands entonnoirs, 

separees par d'epaisses poutres. L'importance que prennent ces 

poutres a pour resultat de reduire le volume de Ia nef a un simple 

parallalepipede. Meme les confessionnaux sont saillants a l'exterieur 

de l'eglise pour ne rien deranger au volume regulier de Ia nef. 

La nef est faiblement eclairee par une lumiere verdatre qui vient 

des fenetres. Par contraste, le choeur est eclaire de fac;on tres intense, 

ala fois par de gran des fenetres a gauche et a droite que !'on ne voit 

pas de Ia nef et par dix-huit projecteurs diriges sur !'au tel. Les formes 

3:88 SSAC BULLET!N 8E.A.C 13

'' • 

Figure B. A-Henri Tremblay, chapel/e Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Lac Bouchette, 

1949-1952, Far;ade principale (Photo: lnventalre des biens cutture/s). 

Figure 7, A-Henri Tremblay, Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Lac-Bouchette, 

1949·1952. Plan (Photo: Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada), 

du choeur sont egalement definies suivant une geometric stricte. L'arc 

triomphal traditionnel entre Ia nef et le choeur est remplace par une 

ouverture rectangulaire encadree de deux pans de murs en brique 

pour reprendre Ia distribution tripartite de Ia fa~ade principale. Au 

fond du choeur, un pan de mur en pliitre blanc sert de fond lumineux 

contre lequel se detache l'autel. Ce mur est encadre de chaque cote 

de quatre colonnes juxtaposees formees par des briques disposees en 

dents de scie qui suggerent les plis d'un rideau qui s'entrouve pour 

reveler le crucifix. Tout demeure tres depouille et tres abstrait. 

Ces eglises de Leonce Desgagne, construites entre 1942 et 1950, 

etaient les premieres au Quebec a se debarrasser des arcs de que! que 

profil qu'ils soient eta atteindre un tel niveau d'abstraction formelle, 

Mais c'est une oeuvre d'un autre architecte qui, Ia premiere, attira 

!'attention des specialistes sur !'architecture du Saguenay-Lac-Saint 

Jean. II s'agit de Ia petite chapelle de pelerinage Notre-Dame-de 

Lourdes, a Lac-Bouchette (Fig. 7 et 8), dessinee par A.-Henri 

Tremblay et construite en 1950 comme l'eglise de Riviere-du-Moulin. 

Immediatement, Gerard Morisset, Alan Gowans et quelques autres 

ont vu dans cette chapelle l'exemple d'un renouveau de !'architecture 

religieuse qui respectait Ia tradition quebecoise. Sa voGte, les fa~ades 

du transept de meme que Ia fa~ade principale sont presque 

entierement formees de parois de verre. Le plan est celui d'un triangle 

allonge, et le sommet de Ia voGte descend vers le choeur a 

mesure que le plan se retrecit a une geometric aussi elementaire de 

meme qu'aucune eglise n'avait vu sa forme interne et externe 

determinee par une simple voGte en bet on. 

Figure 9, Paul-Marie C6te: Lf~once Desgagne et Paul Boileau, Saint-Marc, La 

Baie, 1955-1956. Far;ade principale (Photo: Architecture, btltiment, construction), 

Mais, c'est surtout l'eglise Saint-Marc a La Baie (Fig. 9, 10 et 11), 

commencee en 1955, qui donna le coup d'envoi a une architecture des 

plus affranchies. Dessinee par Paul-Marie Cote, un jeune architecte 

qui venait de se joindre a Ia firme Desgagne et Boileau, cette eglise 

commence Ia celebre serie des eglises blanches et spectaculaires qu'on 

a construites dans plusieurs villes et villages du Saguenay-Lac-Saint 

Jeanjusque dans Ia deuxieme moitie des annees 60 et qui ont donne 

a cette region une renommee soudaine dans les milieux interesses a 

!'architecture. Les revues d'architecture ont acclame l'eglise Saint 

Marc comme

~ ,_ 

-~ ~-~'-- 

~ ··---- · - · * ••• _, 

Figure 10. Paul-Marie CIJte: Leonce Desgagne et Paul Boileau, Saint-Marc, La 

Baie, 1955·1956. Plan (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construction). 

Figure 11. Paul-Marie CIJte: Leonce Desgagne et Paul Boileau, Saint-Marc, La 

Baie, 1955·1956. Nef (Photo: lnventaire des biens culturels). 

entierement en verre qui aide a preciser leur forme. Dans les deux 

cas, le clocher est separe du volume principal, et les deux constructions 

allient le beton, le verre et le granit. Surtout, elles etaient les 

deux seules a accorder une place aussi preponderante au beton et a 

reveler de fa~on aussi directe leur systeme structural dans leur forme 

exterieure. Paul-Marie Cote remplace Ia forme semi-circulaire par Ia 

forme triangulaire qu'il repete partout : dans le plan, les elevations, 

le clocher, les dents de scie au fa'ite de Ia toiture. Les versants du toit, 

d'une epaisseur de dix centimetres, se plissent aussi en pans triangulaires 

pour augmenter leur resistance. lis descendent jusqu'au 

plancher de Ia nef de sorte que l'interieur n'est eclaire que par Ia 

grande paroi de Ia fa~ade et par les deux fa~ades du transept de chaque 

cote du choeur. 

L'effet obtenu est particulierement impressionnant a l'interieur, 

ou Ia sequence des parois qui se dectoublent dans Ia moitie superieure 

cree un effet solennel semblable a celui de banderoles suspendues audessus 

de Ia nef. Eclaires uniquement par Ia fa~ade principale, ces 

parois etablissent une alternance de surfaces eclairees et de surfaces 

dans l'ombre de meme qu'une sequence de pans de moins en moins 

eclaires a mesure que !'on avance dans Ia nef. Par contraste, le choeur 

est abondamment eclaire par les grandes verrieres a chaque extremite 

du transept et qui ne sont pas visibles depuis Ia nef. 

La concentration de lumiere dans le choeur, Ia succession des 

parois de chaque cote de Ia nef et Ia reduction constante de l'espace 

interieur ont pour effet de concentrer !'attention sur l'autel qui occupe 

un espace relativement etroit. Mais Ia structure en triangle imposait 

une limite a Ia largeur de Ia nef. Le plan de l'eglise Saint-Marc 

est en effet exceptionnellement long et etroit, surtout a cette epoque 

ou les efforts de Ia reforme liturgique tendaient a trouver des moyens 

de reunir les fideJes pres de !'au tel, dans des eglises de plan ramasse 

et meme centre. 

Ce qui distingue surtout Saint-Marc de Ia chapelle de Lac 

Bouchette, c'est !'elan de Ia premiere par opposition au profil bas de 

Ia derniere qui cherche a s'enraciner dans le sol. A cause de son elan, 

Saint-Marc annonce bien Ia nouvelle generation des eglises du 

Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean tandis que Ia chapelle Notre-Dame-de 

Lourdes s'en distingue. Dans Ia forme triangulaire, dans Ia fa~on de 

retrousser Ia toiture au-dessus de Ia fa~ade principale et surtout dans 

le clocher qui se dresse comme une aiguille, on sent une volonte 

d'imprimer un elan a cette construction. Quelque temps avant de construire 

Saint-Marc, Leonce Desgagne disait qu'une eglise est «Un ensemble 

de materiaux ordonnes de fa~on a tendre vers Dieu, a 

constituer une priere, des mains jointes vers le ciel, comme Rodin l'a 

si bien compris et illustre» 5 (Fig. 12). 

L'eglise suivante de Desgagne et Cote illustre bien cette conception. 

C'est l'eglise Notre-Dame-de-Fatima a Jonquiere, commencee 

en 1962 (Fig. 13). Elle se compose de deux demi-cones decales l'un 

par rapport a !'autre et relies entre eux par deux bandeaux de verre 

continus du sol jusqu'au sommet de !'edifice. L'un des cones se 

pro Ionge en une courbe adoucie pour former une fleche qui devait, a 

l'origine, porter les cloches. 

Cette eglise annonce !'influence des oeuvres d'Oscar Niemeyer 

dont les architectes du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean semblent avoir 

particulierement apprecie !'elegance et le raffinement. Son plan est 

forme de deux demi-cercles decales comme le plan de Ia chapelle du 


Figure 13. Leonce Oesgagne et Paul-Marie C6te, Notre-Dame·de·Fatima, 

Jonquiere, 1962·1963. Extl'!rieur (Photo: lnventalre des biens cu/turels). 

se trouve meme accru, puisque vers le sommet les pentes se redressent 

presque a Ia verticale tandis que Ia distance de 1 m 20 qui les 

separe procure une ouverture sur le ciel qui laisse entrer Ia lumiere 

zenithale sur toute Ia longueur de l'espace interne. L'emploi de deux 

pliitres differents fait altemer les teintes et definit des bandes flechies 

qui, semblables a des banderoles, creent une ambiance de majeste et 

surtout de douceur, d'autant plus que Ia lumiere zenithale se degrade 

lentement en glissant sur ces surfaces courbes pendant que Ia lumiere 

venue de Ia fa~ade principale diminue d'intensite a mesure que !'on 

s'approche du choeur. 

Figure 12. Auguste Rodin, La Cathfldrale, 1908 (Photo: Jean Cassou, Rodin 

Sculptures, Paris, Fernand Hazan). 

Palais de l'Aurore a Brasilia, construite en 1958 (Fig. 14 et 17). A 

cause de ses gran des dimensions, l'eglise de Jonquiere ne pouvait pas 

etre couverte d'un plafond plat comme Ia chapelle de Brasilia (Fig. 

16). De Ia est probablement venue !'idee d'incliner les deux bandes 

de beton qui s'arrondissent en se faisant face, pour ainsi arriver a Ia 

forme du tipi. 

C'est l'interieur (Fig. 15) qui est surtout impressionnant par 

l'ampleur de son volume, son denuement et les effets lumineux. Les 

fideles ne voient pas les ouvertures par ou entre Ia lumiere. Ils ne 

voient que Ia lumiere qui se degrade sur les grandes parois arrondies, 

couvertes d'amiante soufflee qui leur donne une texture grossiere. 

Entre Ia lumiere vive a !'entree et a l'autel, Ia nef est plongee dans 

une calme penombre. 

Si Ia coupe transversale strictement triangulaire de Saint-Marc a 

La Baie 1mposait une nef etroite qui allait a l'encontre des preceptes 

de Ia nouvelle liturgie, les architectes St-Gelais et Tremblay, auteurs 

de l'eglise Saint-Raphael a Jonquiere, ont contoume cette difficulte 

en excurvant les pentes du toit (Fig.18 et Ia t~ouverture). Ils pouvaient 

ainsi elargir Ia nef tout en mai.ntenant !'elan vertical. En fait, cet elan 

La nef est completement depouillee. Les quelques elements de 

mobilier sont tous soit dans le choeur ferme par un mur de bois, agissant 

comme un immense retable independant de Ia structure, soit a 

!'entree dans l'eglise. A cet endroit, les confessionneaux servent de 

supports a Ia gal erie de l'orgue en meme temps qu'ils separent le narthex 

au centre du baptistere a gauche et de l'escalier a droite. Le 

plancher de Ia galerie traverse Ia paroi de verre de Ia fa~ade , pour 

former a l'exterieur une marquise au-dessus du portail, avec le resultat 

que cette dalle horizontale en beton n'a aucun support apparent. La 

fa~ade acquiert une grace aerienne, puisque les parties so !ides ne se 

rejoignent jamais. La marquise a !'air suspendue dans le vide. Ellene 

rejoint pas non plus les versants du toit pas plus que ceux-ci ne se 

rejoignent entre eux. Les longues marches du perron sont aussi des 

dalles delicates en beton qui ont !'air de flotter dans l'espace. Ce raffinement 

maniere est typique de beau coup d'oeuvres de Niemeyer qui 

se plaisait a presenter de grandes dalles minces comme si elles etaient 

suspendues dans les airs (Fig. 16) ou portees par des supports reduits 

a de fines pointes (Fig. 19). 

Saint-Raphael marque aussi le debut d'une tendance qui 

caracterise les eglises des annees 60 au Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean. 

Ces eglises suggerent un vigoureux elan vers le ciel en meme temps 

qu'elles se deploient largement pour couvrir le sol. L'eglise du petit 

village de Larouche illustre bien cette double caracteristique (Fig. 20). 

16 SSAC BULLETI!•! SEAG 3:88

Ci-dt~soou: 

Plan du rez-de-chaussee 

La nef vers l'entru et les fonts baptismaux. 

Detail de l'entru principale. 

Aspect des confessioMaux, au del& des 

fonts baptismaux. 

Sur Ia page de droilt : 

Le choeur et le maitre autel 

Figure 14. Leonce Desgagne et Paul-Marie C6te, Notre-Dame-de-Fatima, Jonquiere, 1962-1963. Plan (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construction). 

Figure 16. Oscar Niemeyer, Chapelle du Palais de I'Aurore, Brasilia, 1958. 

Exterieur (Photo: Stamo Papadakl, Oscar Neimeyer, New-York, George Braziller 

Inc., 1960). 

Figure 15. Leonce Desgagne et Paul-Marie Cote, Notre-Dame-de-Fatima, 

Jonquiere, 1962-1963. lnterieur (Photo: auteur). 

Figure 17. Oscar Niemeyer, Chapelle du Palais de I'Aurore, Brasilia, 1958. Plan 

et elevations (Photo: Stamo Papadaki, Oscar Niemeyer, New-York, George 

Braziller Inc. , 1960). 

Elle fut construite par St-Gelais et Tremblay immediatement apres 

qu'ils eurent acheve l'eglise Saint-Raphael. Son plan procede d'une 

croix grecque dont les bras se rejoignent par des segments de cercle. 

La masse basse et largement etalee de cette eglise est couverte de 

deux grandes surfaces courbes accolees qui rappellent Saint-Raphael. 

Ces courbes sont calculees pour prolonger leur elan ascendant vers 

le sommet du clocher qui se dresse devant le portail. 

Alors que les eglises Saint-Marc, Notre-Dame-de-Fatima et Saint 

Raphael soulignaient davantage !'elan vers le ciel, celles qui suivront 

l'eglise de Larouche chercheront, comme celle-ci, a realiser plutot un 

equilibre entre !'elan vers le ciel et le lien avec le sol. L'eglise de 

Roberval, dessinee par St-Gelais, Tremblay et Tremblay, montre bien 

cet equilibre. Elle forme une grande pyramide de plan carre, portee 


Figure 19. Oscar Niemeyer, Palais de /'Aurora, Brasilia, 1959. Fa~ade (Photo: 

Stamo Papadakl, Oscar Niemeyer, New-York, George Braziller Inc., 1960). 

Figure 18. Evans St-Gelais et Fernand Tremblay, Saint-Raphael, Jonquiere, 

1959·1960 (Photo: Architectes St·Gelais, Tremblay et Belanger). 

par trois piliers trapus en beton sur chacun des cotes (Fig. 21). Chaque 

pilier est forme de deux lames disposees a angle droit pour 

recevoir Ia poussee des chevrons qui sont orientes diagonalement par 

rapport au plan. Le toit lourd descend tres bas et deborde les murs 

de beaucoup. Tout autour de l'eglise, le sol a ete releve en talus 

comme pour rejoindre le plus possible les pentes du toit. Par contre, 

au sommet de Ia pyramide, un campanile Ieger aux courbes gracieuses 

pointe vers le ciel. II est meme detache de Ia toiture en cuivre par un 

bandeau de verre continu qui eclaire le centre de l'eglise. 

Le lien avec le sol s'affermit encore lorsqu'on penetre dans 

l'eglise. Le portail est deja plus bas que le niveau du sol de chaque 

cote de lui et, une fois que le visiteur penetre dans Ia nef, il continue 

a descendre puisque le plancher forme un amphitheatre autour de 

l'autel qui occupe le centre du plan (Fig. 22). A l'interieur aussi, le 

toit appara!t tres lourd avec ses puissants chevrons en bet on brut qui 

ctelimitent des grands caissons en losange. Les panneaux de bois au 

fond des caissons cachent Ia source d'eclairage artificiel. Seul un 

mince filet de lumiere passe dans l'etroite ouverture entre le panneau 

de bois et le chevron de beton. 

L'eglise Saint-Mathias a Arvida presente elle aussi cet elan vertical 

en meme temps qu'elle tend a se deployer sur une grande superfide 

de terrain (Fig. 23). Son architecte, Jacques Coutu, a lui aussi 

con~truit plusieurs eglises remarquables dans Ia region au cours des 

annees 60. L'eglise Saint-Mathias s'est merite le Canadian Wood 

Design Award en 1965. Son plan forme un hexagone allonge (Fig. 25). 

Tout autour de Ia nef, des salles diverses et des chapelles sont logees 

dans une structure basse en bet on. Cette construction lourde, percee 

de fenetres tres etroites que des saillies tentent de dissirnuler, forme 

comme une grande ceinture horizontale au tour du toit pyramidal qui 

couvre Ia nef. L'elan de cette toiture etait a l'origine beaucoup plus 

marque, tant a l'interieur qu'a l'exterieur, puisque d'etroits bandeaux 

de verre occupaient chacune des aretes depuis Ia base jusqu'au sommet 

de Ia pyramide (Fig. 24). 

Si Ia plupart d'entre nous reconnaissons une eglise a ce schema 

d'un carre auquel se superposent un triangle obtus et un triangle aigu, 

au Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean Ia silhouette de deux elegantes courbes 

adossees etait a tel point caracteristique des eglises nouvelles que c'est 

ainsi que !'on identifiait Ia chapelle sur le tableau des renseignements 

Figure 20. Evans St-Gelais et Fernand Tremblay, Saint-Gerard-Magella, 

Larouche, 1960. Fa~de principale (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construction). 

a l'Hopital de Jonquiere (Fig. 26). Cette silhouette, l'architecte 

americain Victor Lundy l'avait deja exploitee dans certaines de ses 

eglises, comme a l'eglise Saint Paul a Sarasota en Floride, en 1955. 11 

l'interpretait de Ia fac;on suivante :

Figure 21. St·Gelais, Tremblay et Tremblay, Notre-Dame-lmmacu/ee, Robervat, 1966-1967. Exterieur (Photo: auteur). 

coupole translucide de 23 metres de diametre. Celle-ci est faite de 

trois couches de matiere plastique. 

Des Ia premiere annee, l'eau s'est infiltree dans le toit et dans les 

murs. En 1967, trois ans apres Ia fin des travaux, un expert estimait 

que cette eglise, construite au cout de $469 000, exigeait des 

reparations de l'ordre de $150 000. Des ce moment, Ia fabrique 

decida d'entreprendre des poursuites judiciaires contre les architectes, 

!es ingenieurs et !'entrepreneur. Ce n'est qu'en 1971 que des poursuites 

pour $300 000 furent intentees, a Ia suite d'un rapport 

d'ingenieurs conseils qui condamnait l'eglise. Les murs etaient 

fendilles jusqu'aux fondations. Les cloches et l'orgue ne fonctionnaient 

plus. La cause fut entendue par Ia Cour supreme en 1982. 

Entretemps, l'architecte Paul-Marie Cote etait decede d'une crise cardiaque 

et, peu de temps apres, son associe, Leonce Desgagne, mine 

par Ia tournure des evenements, se laissait mourir a son tour. 

Figure 22. St-Gelais, Tremblay et Tremblay, Notre-Dame-lmmaculee, Roberval, 

1966-1967. lnterieur (Photo: auteur). 

Depuis 1967, l'epoque hero!que de Ia construction des eglises au 

Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean a vraiment pris fin. La comme ailleurs, une 

stabilisation de Ia population jointe a une baisse de Ia pratique 


Figure 23. Jacques Coutu, Saint-Mathias, Arvida, 1964-1965. Exterleur (Photo: auteur). 

religieuse ont presque reduit a zero le besoin de construire de nouvelles 

eglises. II fallut bien parfois biitir pour remplacer d'anciennes constructions, 

mais l'enthousiasme de Ia premiere moitie des annees 60 

n'y etait plus. A Saint-Philippe, ou l'audace architecturale avait coute 

plus cher que partout ailleurs, on a meme durant un certain temps 

renonce a reconstruire. On envisagea de saborder Ia paroisse et de 

distribuer sa population dans les paroisses avoisinantes. Mais apres 

avoir gagne sa cause devant les tribuneaux, Ia paroisse decidait enfm 

en 1986 de construire une eglise beau coup moins audacieuse que celle 

qui vingt ans auparavant lui avait cause beaucoup d'ennuis. 


Figure 24. Jacques Coutu, Saint-Mathias, Arvida, 1964·1965. lnterieur a /'eta/ 

d'origine (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construction). 

Figure 27. Leonce Desgagne et Paul-Marie Cdte, Salnt·Phlllppe, Arvlda, 

1963·1964. Planet coupe (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construction). 

Figure 25. Jacques Coutu, Saint-Mathias, Arvida, 1964·1965. Plan (Photo: 

Canadian Catholic Institutions). 

Figure 28. Leonce Oesgagne et Paul-Marie Cdte, Salnt·Philippe, Arvlda, 

1963·1964. Net (Photo: Architecture, Mtiment, construdion). 

Notes 

1 Jean-Paul Rouleau, Chicoutimi: contexte socio-re/igieux et adoptation pastorale, 

Quebec, Universite LavaL 1968, p. 67. 

2 Ibid., p. 67-68. 

3 Pour ces oeuvres traditionnalistes de Uonce Desgagne, voir Claude Bergeron, 

L'architecture des eglises du Quebec, 1940-1985, Quebec, Les Presses de 

l'Universite Laval, 1987, p. 163-168. 

4Architecture, Mtiment, constJUCtion, XII, no 130 (fevrier 1957), p. 39. 

5 Uonce Desgagne, « Urgence d'un eveil en architecture religieuse>>, Ms et pensee, 

3e annee, no 15 Ganvier-fevrier 1954), p. 84. 

Figure 26. HBpital de Jonquiere, Jonquiere. Tableau des renseignements (Photo: 

auteur). 

6 Walter McQuade, 'Lundy's Personal Architecture,' Architectural Forum, CXl, no 6 

(decembre 1959), p. 105. 


Since the late nineteenth century the office building has 

evolved from low-rise office/warehouse to high-rise office 

tower. This has occurred for numerous reasons, from new building 

materials to economic prosperity. Rampant capitalism set the 

stage for developers to get more money per square foot of land 

than ever before because there was more usable space available 

when more floors were added. Since those footloose days many 

things have been changed in an attempt to encourage designs of 

high quality: there are now laws regulating height, density, and 

air space rights; there exist heritage groups and protected buildings; 

there are symbolic "oranges" and "lemons" in recognition 

of good or bad architecture. The office building is the type most 

affected by many of these initiatives. Consequently, designers of 

office buildings are now exploring innovative 

po:ssit>ilil:iesfor their clients. 

La Maison Ultramar: A Short Building 

by Donna McGee 

22 


La Maison Ultramar is the name given to the head office for 

Ultramar Canada Inc. currently under development on McGill 

College Avenue. It is not to be a tall building. In fact, it will rise 

only six storeys in all, making it a rather short building by modem 

standards. Its interest lies in the development concept- taking its 

cue from La Maison Alcan, it is to share a city block with a number 

of other buildings, and will try to unify that block. Perhaps 

the most interesting aspect of this project is that the architects 

involved have consulted the archives which hold the plans for two 

other important buildings on that site, the Molson House, built 

by Robert Findlay in 1906, and the University Club, built in 1912- 

13 by Percy E . Nobbs. Bound by Sherbrooke Street, McGill College 

Avenue, President Kennedy Avenue, and Mansfield Street, 

it is a prime location in Montreal for a head office. 

The design of this project 

could be 

considered to be postmodern for various reasons. "Postmodem" is a 

slippery term, connoting on one hand a chronological demarcation 

following modernism and, on the other hand, a renewal of a premodernist 

architectural vocabulary. But it is usually used in a pejorative 

or even humourous way. It can also mean contextual, in contrast 

to the placeless nature of the so-called International Style. In this 

project, it does not refer to superficial references to older styles, for 

unlike, say, La Maison des Cooperants and the adjoining Les 

Promenades de Ia Cathedrale, its contextualism is not just a vulgar 

visual reference to its surroundings. Nor is its postmodernism an attempt 

to imitate the styles of the important yet disparate buildings on 

the block; rather, it is an attempt to harmonize with these turn-of-thecentury 

buildings as well as with the nearby new buildings, and to complement 

the style of McGill College Avenue itself. 

It was, in fact, the architects' interest in the plans of the Molson 

House and the University Club which resulted in an exhibition of the 

Ultramar project at McGill University. Sponsored by the First 

Quebec Corporation, the developers of the project, 

the exhibition was mounted by the Canadian 

Architecture Collection of McGill, which holds the 

archives for the historic buildings on that block. 

The exhibition attempted to portray the spirit of 

co-operation between the present architects, big 

business, and, through their documents, the architects 

of the past. The stress was on the development 

of the site, from farmland to residential area 

to corporate location. 

In the past few years, the four-block long Mc 

Gill College Avenue has been developed into a 

boulevard, complete with a central island, more 

traffic lanes, and wider sidewalks with trees and 

flower pots. Crowned by McGill University to the 

3:88 

SSAC BULLETIN SEAC 23

north and stretching south to Place Ville Marie, the avenue has become 

one of the most prestigious addresses for corporations. Many 

of the buildings between St. Catherine and Sherbrooke Streets take 

up one whole block each-the Montreal Trust complex, the Industrial 

Life tower, the Banque Nationale de Paris building, and Place Mercantile, 

which flanks McGill's Strathcona Hall on two sides and incorporates 

some recycled greystone fa~ades . 

The block which the Maison Ultramar is to occupy contains three 

important buildings: the previously mentioned University Club and 

Molson House, and the Maxwelton, built by Edward and William S. 

Maxwell in 1914. (The Maxwelton is now known as Chateau Nasso.) 

A fourth building, a plain, modernist box called the Landau building, 

is situated on the southeast corner of Sherbrooke and Mansfield. Beside 

it, across the alley on Mansfield, a small apartment building which 

recently housed the Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse has been torn down 

to make way for part of the complex. The three older buildings vary 

in style from the Norman Shaw-like eclecticism of the Molson House, 

to the Arts and Crafts-influenced University Club, to the Chicago 

School-type antecedents of the Maxwelton. 

La Maison Ultramar incorporates in varying degrees three of the 

four buildings. The University Club will be surrounded on the north 

and east sides by the Ultramar building, and its south side, which borders 

on President Kennedy Avenue, will be finished in the spirit of 

that Club's style. Since Nobbs assumed that another building would 

flank the south side, that wall was never given a "finish." 

Bruce Anderson, of Anderson Architects, is responsible for the 

design of the south elevation of the Club. The transitional section between 

it and the Ultramar building is a glass curtain wall, deemed to 

be the most neutral solution to the problem of joining the buildings. 

It was designed by the architectural firm Tolchinsky and Goodz, who 

are responsible for the design of La Maison Ultramar. Like the 

original existing fa~ade, the south wall of the Club will be finished in 

red brick and yellow sandstone. The east and north sides will be 

repaired, but generally left as they are. 

The Molson House will be flanked in the rear by the Maison 

Ultramar, and will be restored as much as possible and otherwise 

renovated by Tolchinsky and Goodz. Unfortunately, this once prestigious 

house, built for Dr. William Alexander Molson, senior 

physician of the Montreal General Hospital, has fallen to ruin from 

neglect. The original plans indicate a large waiting room and a consulting 

room and coat room for receiving patients in Dr. Molson's 

private practice. The renovated structure will be available for rent for 

professional offices. 

The top two floors of the Landau building will probably be torn 

down, to be replaced with three floors. The roof will slope at an angle 

similar to that of the Molson House, and will be clad in copper. The 

exterior will be refinished to match the rest of the project. Ultramar 

will occupy the top two floors and these will be linked by a catwalk to 

the part of the building adjacent to the University Club. 

The main Ultramar building will be covered in polished granite 

and brick and capped at the entrance on the corner of McGill College 

and President Kennedy with a copper-clad turret. All these 

materials refer to various buildings in the immediate vicinity. For example, 

the use of copper relates to the roofs of the Molson House 

and to many McGill University buildings across the street. Polished 

granite was used in the neighbouring Industrial Life tower, and brick 

is used in the University Club. The McGill College corner entrance 

will be rounded off and framed by a corniced projection on either side 

of the entrance arch, which has radiating voussoirs like those at the 

entrance to the University Club. Like the Alcan building, some areas 

of La Maison Ultramar will be lit by skylights; one public space, to be 

covered by what the architects call a light court, may be used as exhibition 

or concert space. The First Quebec Corporation and Ultramar 

have also planned for retail spaces on the ground floor. 

Another entrance on Mansfield Street beside the University Club, 

leading to the inner light court and retail stores, will repeat the motifs 

of the McGill College side. There will also be a passage to the Metro, 

thereby expanding the underground shopping network, and providing 

weather protection at a greater distance from the station. By opening 

up its head office to pedestrian traffic, Ultramar is implying 

approachability; and like Alcan, by providing a pleasant environment, 

that company bespeaks its concern, whether real or feigned, for the 

public which has helped it prosper as a company. The rent from the 

retail stores will probably also help pay the bills. The expected cost of 

the project is thirty million dollars. 

Complexes like the Alcan and Ultramar buildings are a welcome 

relief from the seemingly unending proliferation of tall glass boxes in 

a city that still has undeveloped lots downtown (Dorchester Street 

and the former railway corridor come to mind). Prior to Ultramar's 

inclusion in the project, The Laurentian Group, which had owned the 

lot, had planned a twenty-four storey office tower for the site. Strong 

objections at that time by heritage groups such as Sauvons Montreal 

and Heritage Montreal caused the developers to re-think the issue, 

which allowed enough time for the University Club to be declared a 

historic monument. Since the Molson House was owned by The 

Laurentian Group, it seems that no one decided to do the research 

and report necessary to protect that building. As it turns out, however, 

the developers and Ultramar have won praise for their heritage-conscious 

decision to preserve the old house. 

Because of the small number of storeys and the modest size of the 

building, the employees of Ultramar and others who will work in the 

complex will spend their time in a human-scaled environment. This is 

probably appropriate for a company that fled the province in 1976 

after the election of the Parti Quebecois, proceeded to lose eighty 

million dollars between 1980 and 1985, and then returned to the 

province, implying that they had erred by moving in the first placea 

very human and uncorporate thing to do. Furthermore, the good 

press they will receive as a result of this project will probably help 

repair some of the damage done by their initial move, just as theA!can 

building, and that company's cultural sponsorship, helps some people 

forget that it is considered responsible by ecology and wildlife protection 

groups for the pollution that is killing beluga whales farther up 

the St. Lawrence River. But these are not purely architectural issues. 

What these offices do represent is a return to humanism- a sign 

that big business and the mega-corporation have recognized a responsiblity 

not only to their customers, the public, but also to the urban 

environment, culturally and aesthetically. By providing considerate 

and intelligent solutions to corporate needs, urban restrictions, and 

the quality of urban life as expressed through its architectural 

presence, these companies deserve to be applauded. It remains to be 

seen whether La Maison Ultramar will live up to the plans. If it does, 

Montreal and McGill College Avenue will be all the richer for it. 


Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada/Societe pour !'etude de )'architecture au Canada 

Annual Conference/Congres annuel 

Le Grand Hotel 

777, rue University, Montreal 

April12- 16 avril1989 

Preliminary Schedule of Events/Programme preliminaire 

WEDNESDAY 12APRIL/MERCREDI 12AVRIL 

A.M. 

Preservation Colloquium. Organized in association with SAH and Heritage Montreal. 

Meridien Hotel. See separate announcement for details. 

Colloque sur Ia conservation du patrimoine. Organize en collaboration avec Ia SAH et Heritage Montreal. 

Hotel Le Meridien. Des renseignements sur Ies modalites d'inscription suivront. 

P.M. 

5:00-7:00 

Registration for SSAC conference. Le Grand Hotel, room to be announced. 

Inscription pour Ie congres S.EA.C. Le Grand Hotel, piece a determiner. 

THURSDAY 13APRIL/JEUDI 13AVRIL 

A.M. 

Registration/Inscription 

9:00-10:30 

First session. Theatre Architecture in Canada. (Chair: Robert Hunter, Canadian Parks Service, Ottawa) 

Premiere seance. L'architecture des theatres au Canada. (President: Robert Hunter, Service canadien des pares, Ottawa) 

10:45 - 12:15 

Second session. Architecture of Montreal and the Eastern Townships. (Chair: Robert Lemire, Danville) 

Deuxieme seance. L'architecture de Montreal et des Cantons de l'Est. (President: Robert Lemire, Danville) 

12:15-2:00 

Lunch. Le Grand Hotel, room to be announced. 

Dejeuner. LeGrand Hotel, piece a determiner. 

1:15-2:00 

Executive board meeting. Le Grand Hotel, Hospitality Suite, room to be announced. 

Reunion du conseil d'administration. Le Grand Hotel, Suite Hospitalite, piece a determiner. 

P.M. 

2:30-5:00 

Walking Tour. The Houses of E. & W. S. Maxwell. 

Une excursion a pied. Les maisons de E. & W. S. Maxwell. 

6:30 

Cocktails. Le Grand Hotel, room to be announced. 

Cocktails. Le Grand Hotel, piece a determiner. 

7:30 

Banquet. Le Grand Hotel, room to be announced. 

Banquet. LeGrand Hotel, piece a determiner. 

3:88 


FRIDAY 14 APRIL/VEND RED! 14 AVRIL 

A.M. 

Registration/Inscription 

9:00- 10:30 

Third session. Architectural Drawings in Canada. (Chair: Howard Shubert, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal) 

Troisieme seance. Les plans architecturaux au Canada. (President: Howard Shubert, Centre Canadien d'Architecture, Montreal) 

Coffee break/Pause cafe 

10:45- 12:15 

Fourth session. History of Urban Planning in Montreal. (Chair: Jeanne Wolfe, McGill University, Montreal) 

Quatrieme seance. Histoire de l'urbanisme a Montreal. (President: Jeanne Wolfe, Universite de McGill, Montreal) 

12:15-1:15 

Lunch. Le Grand Hotel, room to be announced. 

Dejeuner. LeGrand Hotel, piece a determiner. 

P.M. 

1:15- 2:30 

Annual general meeting/ Assemblee annuelle 

2:30-4:30 

SAH Conference, Meridien Hotel. 

Congres de Ia SAH, Hotel Le Meridien. 

6:00 

Reception and viewing of exhibitions at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1920 Baile Street (together with SAH). 

Reception et visite des expositions au Centre Canadien d'Architecture, 1920 rue Baile (avec le participation de SAH). 

SATURDAY 15APRIL/SAMEDI 15AVRIL 

8:30-9:30 

Executive board meeting (NEW). Le Grand Hotel, restaurant to be announced. 

Reunion de nouveau conseil d'administration. LeGrand Hotel, dans un restaurant a determiner. 

A.M. 

9:30- 12:00 

Fifth session. Natural Light in Recent Museum Design: A Panel Discussion. 

(Moderator: Larry Richards, University of Waterloo, Waterloo) 

Cinquieme seance. Panel-discussion. Lumiere naturelle et conception de musees recents. 

(President de seance : Larry Richards, Universite de Waterloo, Waterloo) 

12:00- 12:30 

Closing comments. Conference co-ordinator (Howard Shubert); Conference co-ordinator, 

Edmonton, 1990 (Diana Kordan); President, SSAC (Mark Fram). 

Notes de Ia fin. Coordonateur du congres (Howard Shubert); coordonateur du congres 

a Edmonton en 1990 (Diana Kordan); President, S.EA.C. (Mark Fram). 

12:30- 1:30 

Lunch (on your own)/Dejeuner (dans un restaurant de votre choix) 

P.M. 

2:00-4:30 

Walking Tour. (To be determined) 

Excursion a pied. (A determiner) 

26 


Martin Wei/ Prize 

of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 

The Society for the Study of Architecture in 

Canada is a learned society devoted to the 

examination of the role of the built environment in 

Canadian society. Its membership includes 

structural and landscape architects, architectural 

historians, urban historians and planners, 

sociologists, folklorists, and specialists in such 

fields as heritage conseNation and landscape 

history. 

Founded in 1974 under the leadership of heritage 

architect Martin Wei/, the Society is currently the 

sole national organization whose focus of interest 

is Canada's built environment in all of its 

manifestations. 

The Society is therefore pleased to invite 

submissions for the Martin Wei/ Prize. 

Submissions are to take the form of an original 

essay (in either official language) suitable for 

publication, from full- or part-time students 

enrolled at the graduate or undergraduate level at 

Canadian universities. 

The Wei/ Prize consists of a certificate and an 

expenses-paid trip to the Annual Meeting and 

Conference of the Society so that the winning 

essay may be delivered as part of the programme. 

The Society undertakes to provide return airfare, 

ground transportation, up to four nights 

accommodation and a meal allowance. The Prize 

also includes the publication of the winning essay 

by the Society. 

Rules of the Competition 

1 Submissions for the Wei/ Prize shall take the 

form of an essay, in either French or English, 

suitable for publication. The paper must be of 

3000 to 5000 words on a subject which explores 

the role of the built environment in Canadian 

society. This may deal with a single structure, 

either modern or historical, proposed or extant; a 

complex of related structures, either modern or 

historical, proposed or extant; a type of structure 

(examined for its historical, functional, structural 

or aesthetic significance); cultural landscapes (for 

example, parks, cemeteries, farmsteads, etc.); a 

biographical sketch of a person who has 

influenced the built environment; or a 

philosophical, sociological, or historical problem 

related to the built environment. Architectural 

projects may not be submitted unless they 

conform to the above requirements. 

2 Submissions must be typewritten, 

double-spaced. Visual materials, not exceeding a· 

by 10", may be included, either integrated into the 

text of the paper or included at the end. 

Submissions must be supported, where 

appropriate, by documentation in the form of 

notes, bibliography or suggestions for further 

reading. 

3 Papers must be received by the Society, at the 

address below, postmarked on or before 

31 JANUARY 1989. 

4 The Society will submit each essay to its 

Editorial Board for assessment. The decision of 

the Editorial Board shall be final. The Society 

reseNes the right not to award the prize. Every 

effort will be made to inform the winner by 15 

March 1989. 

5 The paper judged the winner of the prize will be 

included in the programme of the Annual Meeting 

of the Society, which will take place in Montreal 

between 12 and 16 Apri/1989. 

6 If the author of the winning paper is not able to 

be present at the Annual Meeting, the address 

will be delivered in hisjher absence. In lieu of the 

trip to the Annual Meeting, the winner will receive 

a cash award of $100. 

7 AI/ submissions will be considered for possible 

publication. The Editorial Board will inform all 

authors of its decision by 15 April 1989. 

8 Submission must be sent to: 

Chairman 

Editorial Board 

Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 

P.O. Box 2302, Station D 

Ottawa, Ontario 

K1P5W5 

3:88

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