A glass envelope fully encapsulates the heritage theatre, halting the deterioration of its concrete structure. Photo by Stéphane Groleau
ARCHITECTS Lemay / Atelier 21
PHOTOS Stéphane Groleau
Since its grand opening on January 16, 1971, the Grand Théâtre de Québec has been a prized cultural icon in Quebec City. The building is admired for its brutalist architecture, by Victor Prus, who designed it as a solid box made of prefabricated concrete panels, with a projecting roofline, sides subtly canted inwards, and transparent base. The architecture is entwined with an integrated artwork?a monumental concrete mural by sculptor Jordi Bonet that covers close to 60 percent of the interior, making it one of the largest sculptures of its kind in the world. By the turn of the century, moisture had caused the concrete panels? steel anchors to disintegrate, threatening both the exterior envelope as well as the interior mural, both of which are linked to the structure. The concrete anchors could not be simply removed and replaced. An innovative solution was urgently needed to protect the building?s heritage elements.
One of the world?s largest artworks made of sculpted concrete is integrated with the existing structure. The sculpture, which could not be removed, is protected by the intervention. Archival photo courtesy Grand Théâtre de Québec
To halt the corrosion of the anchors, Lemay and Atelier 21 worked to create a transparent exterior envelope that would fully encapsulate the...