Au Pied-du-Courant Complex

This rehabilitation and recycling project concerns a complex of two adjoining buildings: the former prison at Pied-du-courant (or Patriotes' prison), built between 1832 and 1840, and a warehouse erected in 1921 when the Liquor Commission (now the SAQ) was created. The complex includes the former prison, the governor's house, the surrounding wall, the underground cellars and the former warehouse. The project involved integrating the head offices of Télé-Québec and SODEC, as well as a number of other organizations (Conseil de presse, Allô Prof, Savoir Média, Musée de la prison). The work involved a complete cleaning of the building's interiors, with the exception of the basement cellars.

In addition to the office areas, the building includes a large server room, Télé-Québec's post-production equipment, catering facilities, as well as meeting and teleconference rooms. The warehouse envelope was completely deconstructed and replaced by a new curtain wall to meet performance, user comfort and architectural integration objectives. The new immaterial curtain wall sits alongside the massiveness of the stone, with its angled stringcourses matching those of the prison and its cornice. Equidistant mullions create an animated vertical texture: their dynamic perception initiates a sensation of vibration.