Zaraté + Lavigne architectes and En Temps et Lieu, in collaboration with Greg Nowak and Tristan Morissette
Merci de bien vouloir flâner
The proposal “Merci de bien vouloir flâner” (“Thank you for hanging around”) stands out for its simplicity, overall quality, and the concept, which emphasizes the environment as a core element of the proposal with, notably, incorporation of a water management system. Rue Notre-Dame is envisioned as a space for sociability that citizens of all ages can make their own. The inclusion of the bridge symbol playfully expresses the neighbourhood’s identity and provides urban markers for the main street.
– Excerpt from the text of the proposal (Freely Translated)
We propose to highlight this industrial past so as to “build bridges” between residents and their living environment. This invitation to connect prompts a “water under the bridge” philosophy as a strategy for supplying rainwater to the facilities of the buildings along the street. We have reimagined traffic flow as a means to revitalize the neighbourhood through a reclaiming of public space and the entrances to retail spaces, inviting people to take their time. Whether it’s shopping, hanging out on a terrasse, relaxing in an urban hammock, watching a movie al fresco, sliding on compacted snow slopes or enjoying ephemeral artworks on snowbanks in winter, the new philosophy is “easy does it.”
