Québec River City
Revealing Québec City's Hidden Rivers
Rivers have historically been the focal point of human settlements. Most of the underlying reasons were pragmatic: a constant supply of water for farming, fishing and sustaining life. The 4 rivers that run through Québec City are astonishing recreation amenities, ecological corridors and direct links to the city's vibrant history. Our proposal, Québec River City, seeks to bring the rivers to the forefront of the urban landscape by amplifying their inherent strengths and unique characteristics. Each river has latent potential that can be exposed and exploited for the benefit of Quebec City's human population and its natural ecology.
Québec River City seeks to reveal these rivers through the lens of a conceptual framework. Using this framework, we expose the hidden rivers through four kinds of human engagement: activation, collection, filtration, and cultivation. The intention is that the character of the rivers become understood at all city scales.
We propose that the rivers are the backbone of a city-wide circulation system. This system proposes path loops that take advantage of the disused space within the city's hydro corridors to connect the four rivers across the city and provide a world class, four-season, urban recreation trail system. Through the process of connecting the rivers across the city landscape a fully linked ecological structure is developed. Inherent in this organization are possibilities for new economic endeavours such as tree nurseries, urban farming and energy production.
At the neighbourhood scale multiple strategies connect people to the rivers and assist to highlight each river's unique character. As Cap-Rouge reaches the St. Lawrence, a public space extends into the river exposing the tidal fluctuation and the drama of the estuarine landscape. New water based recreation and tourism opportunities abound as the interface between City and river is mediated.
Underutilized space along each river provides opportunities for new forms of urban living or unique recreational opportunities. At Parc des Saules, industrial use is developed into compact high-density, mixed-use development which fronts a landscape that absorbs floodwater, provides habitat and intensifies human experience. Beauport Quarry becomes a distinctive urban park. This apparent scar on the landscape is honoured for the important role it has played in the construction of the city and its position as the longest operating quarry in North America. Unique urban experiences are provided as people observe the exposed geologic layers, rock climb or ice skate.
At the north end of St. Charles River, Kabir-Kouba Falls can be experienced in a variety of ways through the construction of a multi-levelled lookout. The streetscape and plaza in the Village of Wendake are redeveloped to honour and foreground indigenous people's heritage and their connection to the rivers. At the confluence of Beauport River and the St. Lawrence a topographic landscape provides unique views back towards the City, waterfowl habitat and assists in making legible the existing trail system.
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