"Like a living language, architecture absorbs and reflects the world's image of itself. Like a living language, it is thus enriched over generations, expressing both adaptation and changing attitudes." These are the premises that inspire the entirety of this finalist project by the architectural firm Rousseau et Fortin. The desire to show through, the addition of grafts and signage are all elements that build the project. The transparency sought attempts to affirm the existing duality between the museum and its anchor, the church. To do this, the architects propose a hall on three levels, taking advantage of the volume and existing floors. Then, they suggest a relationship of force between the western wall, thickened towards the interior, and the new wall opposite, vibrating under the light and announcing the new look of the Museum on the world. This last relationship of force, however, seemed unconvincing to the jury. Indeed, the gesture was qualified as "ill-resolved". The rotunda adjacent to the east façade of the Museum was not a relevant addition to the composition of the Museum.
(CRC text 2004)
"The jury members greatly appreciated this project for the clarity of its plan; indeed, the organization of the exhibition rooms, thanks to the great flexibility of the picture rails and pivoting walls, seemed to them extremely convincing. The wall on the west façade, reworked from the inside, did not seem to be well resolved. As for the rotunda along the north facade and the small building adjoining the Museum's east facade, the jury members assessed that they added little to the overall proposal."
(From the brochure: "Le Musée régional de Rimouski" Coordination and design: Odile Hénault)
(CRC translation)
