Some 200 kilometres north of Quebec City, the village of Péribonka sits on a picturesque site at the mouth of its eponymous river, which spills into a bay on the shores of Lac Saint-Jean. And while the quaint settlement boasts a population of just under 500 people, its cultural landscape is rich in heritage — a reality now also reflected in its built form. On a riverside site at the heart of the community, designers (MDO) have introduced a multi-use cultural hub that integrates assertive yet contextually attuned contemporary design alongside a cluster of historic buildings.
Dubbed Espace Péribonka, the newly built complex (unveiled in 2023, with a second phase now underway) integrates a revitalized local museum alongside a , including a Town Hall, public library, administrative offices for various municipal services, as well as an adjacent future fire hall.
Organized around a former church, the mixed-use development expands the complex with a striking new volume, as well as a relocated heritage property. Remaining a focal point for the village, the church now houses the revitalized , a literary institution — set to re-open in late 2024 — named for the author of Maria Chapdelaine, a seminal 1913 novel which chronicles life in the region. Meanwhile, the new wing deftly translates the church’s slender, elongated form and gable roof into a contemporary civic hub. A light, transparent glass corridor links the two volumes while maintaining open views to a historic home that has been relocated to the site.
In between the church (which dates to 1948) and the new civic building, the site is also now home to the historic Maison Samuel-Bédard, a 1903 house that was moved from approximately six kilometres away. A symbol of the region’s early colonial settlement — and a relic of the era chronicled in Louis Hémon’s novel — the house has been carefully yet lightly restored, retaining an honest patina of chipped paint and elegantly timeworn surfaces.
To maintain a sense of porosity through the complex, a passageway is also carved through the base of the new volume. In fact, the bulk of the new civic hub — which boasts airy interiors and expansive windows, making for a tranquil library and an inviting office setting — sits atop compact ground floor circulation spaces. By lifting much of the new building above the base, the designers created a more open and permeable public realm, which is also animated by a small café and shop alongside the library.
For the architects, a careful mediation between heritage and transformation guided the designee approach. “One of the biggest challenges in addressing government concerns was to ensure that the heritage site would remain visible in a setting of contemporary attractions,” says MDO architect Alexandre Simard. “By creating a fully glazed corridor connecting the two bookend buildings of the site, we provided visibility through to the inner courtyard where Maison Samuel-Bédard now stands.”
Combining an impressive array of civic and cultural uses into a single site, Espace Péribonka integrates both tourism and local life — as well as past and present — into a new destination. And while the complex serves practical needs, it also infuses meaningful placemaking into the landscape. During the day, the two “church” volumes draw the eye, signalling the heart of the community. And at night, the lambent passageway between them lights up, highlighting the word Péribonka delicately etched into the glass.
The post appeared first on .
Related Posts
