Office spaces
text
Charles Doe
photo
Rhiana May James
Between 1963 and 1984, the
construction of the metro
tunnel and the Ville-Marie
Expressway tunnel under
Viger Square led to the
square’s demolition and
reconstruction.
Despite the participation of
three prominent artists from
the Quebec and Canadian
modernist movement –
Charles Daudelin, Claude
Théberge and Peter Gnass
– the square never reclaimed
a level of urban utility
appropriate for this large
public space located just
outside Old Montreal.
lively and much-loved
space designed in the finest
tradition of public gardens.
The northward shift of elite
francophone residential
areas in the 1920s marked
the beginning of the area’s
gradual abandonment and
decline, which accelerated
after the crash of 1929.
“The square’s previous design
and development reflected
the planning ideologies of
the time, including highwaylike roadways surrounding
the square, the separation
of the blocks with concrete
walls, a large number of
compartmentalized spaces,
a lack of openness, light
and natural sightlines, and a
shortage of programming and
other efforts to encourage
people to use the space.
All of these factors
inevitably contributed to the
abandonment and eventual
occupation of the square by a
marginalized population,” said
Michel Langevin, landscape
architect and partner at
NIPPAYSAGE.
Urban and architectural
context
Viger Square remains a major
urban feature, distinguished
by the presence of civic and
residential buildings, of which
several are very prestigious
homes designed by acclaimed
architects. The north side of
the square faces
Landscape & Urban Design
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