Salon Urbain at the Place des Arts,Montreal

16 October 2012

Salon Urbain at the Place des Arts,Montreal

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

The bar area has a standout ceiling of faceted sheet metal panels placed so that they show the red concrete ceiling behind.

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

A ceiling of reflective metal in the retail area has a rippled effect through tension

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

stylised road markings have been applied to the car park’s original concrete floor

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery.

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The sculptural bar, under purple and orange lighting, sits like a piece of art in a gallery

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

The soundwave motif is echoed in the row of sinks in the toilets

A multifunctional design for an area that once had been an underground car park has added a new public space – and a talking point - for Montreal

Client: Société de la Place des Arts
Design: Sid Lee Architects; Aedifica
Size: 5,950 sq m
Completion time: 17 months

With most projects, architects and interior designers are given a fairly clear idea what's required of them - they might be asked to design an office for 100 people or a hotel with 450 rooms, for example. But sometimes an architect or designer has a much greater role to play in defining the purpose of a space. This was the case when Montreal-based Sid Lee Architecture and local multidisciplinary practice Aedifica came together to work on a subterranean car park under the city's Place des Arts performance venue. The client asked the designers to create a versatile public space - but its exact purpose was yet to be decided.

'Usually when we're commissioned the client knows what they want us to do,' says architect and co-founder of Sid Lee Architecture Martin Leblanc, 'but in this case they wanted a creative team that could help shape the project.'

This was Sid Lee Architecture's first major project, so it partnered with the larger and more experienced Ædifica, with six designers from that practice working with Sid Lee Architecture for the duration of the project.

The two practices came up with the idea of Salon Urbain - a public space that would host events and also function as an entrance lobby for a new concert hall, which opened last year. It also had to be open 24 hours a day because it forms part of the entrance to the Place des Arts subway station.

'We started by asking ourselves why people would go there,' says Leblanc. 'They'd go there to see a show, to see a performance. You finish your day; it's 5.30pm; you have a show at 7pm; you don't want to go home, so where should you go? We decided we needed to design a space for that, for people to gather in, to meet and relax and to prepare mentally for the evening ahead.'

There were plenty of practical challenges, too: built as a car park, the space has low ceilings and only a single window providing very little natural light. There were also several structural columns, which Leblanc and his team would have to work around. To create visual interest and to bring in light, the architects created a ceiling feature made of hundreds of squares of faceted sheet metal. There are spaces between each panel and the original concrete ceiling - visible through the gaps - is painted red, a colour synonymous with the theatre. LED lights are fastened to the back of each panel so that they provide an indirect light source while intensifying the red of the ceiling. The panels create an almost graphic pattern, which Leblanc says was inspired by the original Sixties' ceiling in the Place des Arts' Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, the largest multipurpose
concert hall in Canada.

The ceiling is the stand-out feature of the whole scheme, and Leblanc admits he and his team were 'pleasantly surprised' at the way it turned out.

Continuing the theme of performance, a bar in the centre of the space is designed to resemble a soundwave made physical. Created in fibreglass and fabricated by a company that usually builds boats, the bar has a sculptural quality, which makes it sit well in the space even when not in use.

'We wanted it to be a bit like in an art gallery, when you have an object that's interesting in its own right,' says Leblanc of the bar. 'Something you can look at and see some kind of interest, and touch it.'

Sid Lee Architecture designed much of the furniture, which includes low sofas and tables as well as high chairs. 'As it's a public space, the furniture had to be very durable,' says Leblanc. 'We just made very basic two-colour furniture so that you can move it around and mismatch it, but it will still look good. It's a very flexible element.'

As well as transforming the 500 sq m of the former car park into a lobby and events space the designers also had to work on other indoor public areas, which contain the entrance to the performance hall as well as shops, a broadcast studio and a security office. The two spaces are connected but can be separated by a 25m-long retractable curtain in red PVC.

The designers went for a much rawer, simpler look in this second space, applying white road markings to the original concrete floors. Some areas of the ceiling have been panelled with sheets of reflective metal that were installed in reverse tension to create a slight ripple in the reflection.

Whereas the venue space looks polished and highly designed with its wooden floor and feature ceiling, this area has a much more urban feel. 'Keeping the original concrete ceilings here we wanted to create a difference in the two spaces. We really wanted to create a sense of place within those spaces, which could otherwise have been quite boring,' says Leblanc.

Place des Arts president and CEO Marc londeau has called the finished scheme 'a spectacular space, with a modern and bold design'. But imposing a bold design scheme on a public space is often risky for designers and Leblanc admits that the scheme has polarized opinion. 'People either love it or hate it,' he says. 'But that's how it is in Montreal - people either love something or they say, what the hell is that?' Leblanc is unperturbed: 'Honestly, I don't mind - I think it's good that it gets people talking.'

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