WINNER OF A 2016 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT
The addition sits underneath the existing grand staircase, seamlessly integrating the new areas with the heritage structure, while also preserving the surrounding gardens and formal approach.
In recent years, Quebec?s provincial legislature, designed by Eugène-Étienne Taché and completed in 1886, has been in need of revitalization. The addition of a reception pavilion was recommended to improve security systems as well as to allow greater citizen access to the National Assembly, and room for additional parliamentary commission sessions.
Glazing and a central oculus offer views of the National Assembly building.
The new reception pavilion nestles beneath the building?s monumental staircase, modernizing the heritage site while preserving the Parliament?s historic façade, with its iconographic depiction of the province?s history. The underground addition includes commission rooms and spaces dedicated to security, reception, services and teaching. It links
to an entrance with an elevator, located in the renovated inner courtyard, to allow access to the upper floors.
A spiraling ramp gives access to public hearing rooms, classrooms, a central agora, and a security screening zone.
A 300-metre-long ramp organizes the spaces of the 5,100-square-metre expansion around an agora with a central oculus that provides a view of the National Assembly?s tower. The ramp performs not only as the main circulation element, but also in hous...