This week the the Lower Main redevelopment saga is drawing to a sad and quiet close: on December 21st, the Ville-Marie borough ordered the demolition  of 1190 to 1220 boulevard Saint-Laurent. The five buildings, which were constructed between 1889 and 1900, have been left vacant since the Société de Développement Angus purchased them in 2009. Given that the owner has not maintained the properties or even heated them during the winter, it's no surprise that the centennial buildings have become so dilapidated that they present a risk to public safety and fire hazard. The ...

2-22 Sainte-Catherine, en construction le 30 Septembre 2011

Spacing Montreal is excited to work with the Trudeau Foundation, l'Université de Montréal, and the Maison de l'architecture du Québec to organize Stip-tease QDS next Friday Sept 30th. Part neighbourhood exploration, part panel discussion, the event will focus on how different visions of place confront each other in the Quartier des spectacles, and how this clash contributes to shaping the place itself. 10h00-12h30: experience the QDS as never before, by meeting some of the characters who inhabit and shape the Quartier des spectacles: Pierre Dénommé from Sentier Urbain who gardens with street kids on the Corner of Ste-Catherine ...

After the construction crews pack up, after the fanfare of the grand opening, after the grass takes root and the dust settles, only then begins a quieter negotiation between designers and users of a public space. Look closely at the QDS and you'll see small signs of evolution, as design ideals are confronted with day-to-day use. Back in 2010, I posted a critique of a bike path that was only differentiated from the sidewalk by the shade of the grey paving stones. Dozens ...

Every public space is imagined and experienced differently by different users, but heart of downtown Montreal - the area recently dubbed the Quartier des spectacles - is part of almost every Montrealer's identity. Stip away the branding, and you'll find a thousand veils of perception and experience intertwine in this place. Spacing Montreal is excited to work with the Trudeau Foundation, l'Université de Montréal, and the Maison de l'architecture du Québec to organize Stip-tease QDS, a conference that will explore how different visions of place confront eachother in the Quartier des spectacles, and how ...