WINNER OF A 2020 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT
?I like the layering of the material creating the stage sides, and the way it frames views. It?s very light?you see it in different ways as you move around it. It?s not an imposing structure, but takes its place within the park in a very natural and comfortable way. It?s modest, but it has presence.? ? Michael Moxam, juror
Reconstructed on the site of an outdated stage, the new performance space opens at the back to connect the amphitheatre to the lake and surrounding parkland.
At the heart of Montreal?s La Fontaine Park, Théâtre de Verdure has hosted professional dance and music performances from its inception in 1956 until its closure in 2014 due to outdated facilities. This major rehabilitation broadens the theatre?s mission, reaffirms its heritage identity, and creates a more open and accessible space throughout the year. Site plan
The design aims to facilitate a synergy between architecture and landscape. A number of new elements promote accessibility and visual links between the theatre and the park. These include a new entrance, the extension of trails within the theatre enclosure, and the thinning of low shrubbery. A new stage will be reconstructed on the site of the previous stage?a small island within the park?s large linked ponds?with amphitheatre seating reconstructed across the water. The outdoor stage becomes a key design element of the park, while simultaneously ?staging? the landscape through its open fron...