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237 competitions documented	477 competitions listed
6 119 projects	63 435 documents

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Competitor

BRUTHER

Finalist

PHI Contemporary / PHI Contemporain

Stage 1

Stage 2

Axonometric Drawing

Exploded

Photograph of Model

Saint-Paul Street Composition

Photograph of Model

Level 0, Auditorium

Photograph of Model

01

Schema

Spatial Program Strategy

Schema

3 Slabs

Schema

Structural Relationship to the Existing

Schema

Structure: Grid Is Flexibility

Schema

Conservation and Demolition

Schema

Groundfloor Accessibility: Porosity

Presentation Panel

01 (FR)

Section

Cross

Plan

Level 1 and Mezzanine 2 and 3

Plan

Level 0 and Mezzanine 1

Plan

Level -1

Perspective

02

Perspective

01

Presentation Panel

02 (EN)

Presentation Panel

01 (EN)

Presentation Panel

02 (FR)

Presentation Panel

01 (FR)

Presentation Panel

02 (FR)

Presentation Panel

03 (FR)

Presentation Panel

04 (FR)

Presentation Panel

05 (FR)

Presentation Panel

06 (FR)

Presentation Panel

01 (EN)

Presentation Panel

02 (EN)

Presentation Panel

03 (EN)

Presentation Panel

04 (EN)

Presentation Panel

05 (EN)

Presentation Panel

06 (EN)

Presentation Panel Excerpt

01 (FR)

Presentation Panel Excerpt

01 (EN)

Perspective

01

Perspective

02

Perspective

03

Perspective

04

Perspective

05

Site Plan

01

Plan

Level -1

Plan

Ground Floor and Mezzanine 1 and 2

Plan

Level +1 and Mezzanine 3

Plan

Rooftop

Section

Bonsecours Street

Section

Longitudinal

Section

Cross

Axonometric Drawing

Exploded

Construction detail

Envelope: Seasonal Adaptability

Schema

Types of Spaces

Schema

Skyline

Schema

Planes

Schema

Equipping the City

Schema

Heritage in Continuity With the New

Schema

Urban Regulations

Schema

Complementary Typologies

Schema

A New Cultural Address

Schema

Access - A Porosity Ground Floor

Schema

Fire Strategy

Schema

Efficient Structural Concept

Schema

Potential of the Device

Schema

Envelopes

Schema

Digital Slab

Schema

Amplifying the Street

Schema

Flexibility and Light Control

Photograph of Model

01

Photograph of Model

02

Photograph of Model

03

Photograph of Model

04

Photograph of Model

05

Conceptual Sketch

01

Reference Image

Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel

Reference Image

Factory

Reference Image

Gate House Pierre du Calvet

Reference Image

Rooftop Events

Reference Image

Royal Bank of Canada

Reference Image

Rolex Learning Center

Reference Image

Scenography

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE COMPETITOR

Competitor	BRUTHER
	bruther.biz/


Distinction	Finalist
Doc. level	75%

Description

Stage 1

PHI Contemporain is a third protagonist in a total civic project, that in concert with the PHI Centre and the PHI Foundation asserts the presence of a new type of cultural organisation in Montreal. This third element (with a surface area of 5,000 square meters) is not a shrine to art, a treasury or a "monument museum", but rather is better understood as a precinct, an open and dynamic territory in the midst of a densely programmed urban fabric. Its vocation is not only to welcome and show contemporary creation, but to stimulate it, even to produce it in situ. PHI Contemporain must be a continuous invitation to enter, and to participate, to the most diverse audiences. The first challenge of the site is presented by the district, an established neighborhood with buildings on a domestic scale, and with genuine heritage merit. The site of intervention is a block corner, part of which is currently a parking lot and otherwise occupied by existing buildings at a landmark intersection. The buildings are sturdy 17th and 18th century houses. Their thick stone facades give them the bearing of manor houses, a typology somewhat out of place in this urban context, but which lends the project a poetic allure. It is necessary to propose a contemporary architecture that converses intelligently with these significant facades. Another significant character in (or on) the plot is a majestic tree on the unbuilt part of the site. A future building should coexist with it, for its age and size is a crucial affirmation of the generosity and the history of the site. The resulting geometry of the site is angular and constrained, with several indentations in the heart of the block. These constraints are a spur to invention.

An immediate question for the architect is: how to avoid creating residual spaces, a building that gives the impression of being contorted by the pressure of external constraints?

The answer lies in a simple approach that overcomes these difficulties. Rather than a building, as such, it is a question of constructing a "template" which encompasses that which already exists, which creates multiple connections to the city, and which creates new affordances in its interior.

Stage 2

Not merely a new building, PHI Contemporain is an interface with the city. Before being an exhibition space, PHI Contemporain is also a place for education and meetings. PHI Contemporain is programmed and equipped, but open to the many possibilities of the metropolis. The building is not just a showcase. It does not impose itself through monumental facades or an overly pronounced frontality. It marks its presence by its capacity to accommodate both artists and the public. It is a "beehive" as much as an "agora" or a "forum".

One can go there to discover an exhibition. You could also make a date to meet at the local café. You can spend a Saturday afternoon with your family in an interesting workshop. You might come on a weekday evening and attend a specialist lecture. A few days later, you would also be invited to a special evening and discover the building reimagined by a temporary scenography. PHI Contemporary is already a plastic event in itself. It is endowed with great capacity for transformation while at the same time asserting itself as a new landmark for the everyday. Its potential is emblematic of Montreal. Through the many events it will host (exhibitions, launch parties, shows, concerts, performances, conferences, etc.), PHI Contemporain will reactivate both its immediate neighbourhood and participate in the international art world. It is this double-dynamic that the building must stimulate.

(From competitor's text)

Jury Report

Stage 1

An ambitious, bold and courageous proposal that proposes an open plan on a site that suggests the opposite. The strategy shows a clear position where the structure asserts an assumed contrast between the old and the new allowing the coexistence of different worlds.

The multiple opportunities offered by this strategy, for instance the facades open to the street, or the porosity of the spaces are in line with PHI Contemporary's ambitions to be an open institution that is a permanent invitation for the widest possible audience to enter, encounter each other and art in unexpected ways, and appropriate the place.

At this point in the process, the strategy is clear. The development of the architectural concept will have to address the feasibility and functionality issues related to the realization of such an idea - particularly the balance of flexibility with operational efficiency and sustainability considerations. The spatial program and its requirements must be shown to work within the open plan scheme, the materiality (facades, ceilings and roofs, etc.) must be articulated, and a clear understanding of the heritage, urban and regulatory constraints should be demonstrated.

Particular concerns the jury raised:
• The slope of the site does not seem to be reflected
in the first floor as proposed, questions about its
feasibility arose.
• The glass roof and its treatment as well as the
overwhelming use of glass for the new structure poses questions regarding light and transparency for gallery type spaces, also in terms of general maintenance and climate control.

Stage 2

(Not available)

(From jury report)

List of accessible documents

78 scanned / 78 viewable

IMPORTANT NOTICE : Unless otherwise indicated, photographs of buildings and projects are from professional or institutional archives. All reproduction is prohibited unless authorized by the architects, designers, office managers, consortiums or archives centers concerned. The researchers of the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence are not held responsible for any omissions or inaccuracies, but appreciate all comments and pertinent information that will permit necessary modifications during future updates.
info@ccc.umontreal.ca

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