Est-Nord-Est?s new home is the outcome of a design competition, won by emerging Quebec City firm Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes.
ARCHITECT Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes
PHOTOS Adrien Williams, unless otherwise noted
In May 2019, a small centre dedicated to research and experimentation in contemporary art inaugurated its new home in the historic village of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, along the St. Lawrence River. Normally, this kind of event would not register with the architectural community, but Centre Est-Nord-Est is different. The work of Bourgeois Lechasseur architectes, it is contemporary yet deeply rooted in tradition. And it could not have happened without Quebec?s unique competition system.
Centre Est-Nord-Est belongs to a well-established international network of residencies, providing artists from around the world with an opportunity to spend a few weeks away from their home, discovering new perspectives and sharing with people engaged in similar artistic ventures. Since its founding in 1992, Est-Nord-Est had occupied makeshift facilities, too cold to be used during the winter and unable to provide accommodation for its visiting artists. After years of dreaming and fundraising, Est-Nord-Est was finally able to embark on the long trek that would lead to its new building. A lot of hope was placed in the competition process. For decades, Est-Nord-Est operated from makeshift facilities: an old concrete block structure, to which discarded portable classrooms had bee...