72 Journal of Landscape Architecture / autumn 2010 73 Journal of Landscape Architecture / autumn 2010 Nicole Valois, Josiane Paradis Place Émilie-Gamelin in Montréal – landscape narrative, meaning and the uses of public space Over the last few decades, reference to meaning in the design of public spaces has captured a great deal of attention from creators and theorists of landscape architecture. Landscape narrative is one of the strategies of this approach, defined as a method used by designers to instil meaning in a place by drawing on tangible and intangible components of the landscape. Created over 20 years ago, Place Émilie-Gamelin is one of the first intentional uses of this approach in Montréal. But while the original references to urbanity, nature and architecture dictated the design choices, they are no longer sufficient to grasp the meaning of the square, which is strongly defined by its uses and critical reception. By examining the intention of the designers, the media reactions and the changing and unexpected uses of the space, this article will attempt to establish the relationship between design, use and response by way of a changing narrative that can be understood on many levels. In doing so, it will attempt to clarify the relationship between the narrative approach and the fundamental imperatives of public space as a medium for sociability, identity and quality of life. Under the Sky Background The landscape of Montréal, like that of many another West- ern city, was transformed by demographic growth and ac- celerating development after World War II. Exponential ex- pansion of the road network in the 1960s split downtown neighbourhoods, and parking lots proliferated to the detri- ment of public spaces. Parking needs and the construction of the Ville-Marie Expressway rudely encroached on public parks and squares that had been the warp and weft of ur- ban life in downtown Montréal since colonial days, especial- ly Square Viger and Place d’Youville. The city’s public spaces continued to be eroded until the mid-1980s, when the mu- nicipality was preparing to celebrate the 350th anniversa- ry of its founding by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve in 1642. Those plans stirred up a wind of change that resulted in the restructuring of the downtown districts and the creation of new public spaces. The new projects included the trans- formation of the Old Port of Montréal into a major park, a facelift for Old Montréal and, more recently, the creation of the International Quarter. The overhaul of Place Émilie- Gamelin, located at the eastern edge of downtown Montréal, was an early instance of these changes. By the end of the 1960s the neighbourhood that is now the setting of Place Émilie-Gamelin had been subjected to a wave of real estate speculation that led to the deterioration of the urban fabric. The residential function degenerated, re- tail commerce proliferated and parking lots began to appear. Amid these developments, the Montréal municipal authority bought the 11,000 m 2 city block now occupied by Place Émilie- Gamelin and demolished the buildings that had belonged to the congregation of the Sisters of Providence. (Fig. 5) The pur- chase allowed the municipality to build an underground sub- way station and create yet another huge parking lot. Figure 1 Aerial view of Place Émilie-Gamelin in 2010 with Mount Royal in the background NAME OF THE OPERATION Place Émilie-Gamelin LOCATION Montréal, Quebec, Canada CONTRACTING AUTHORITY City of Montréal, Parks Department STUDY PERIOD 1992-2009 CONSTRUCTION DATING 1991-1992 DIMENSIONS 11,000 m 2 Introduction Place Émilie-Gamelin is one of the biggest public squares in Montréal and the one that attracts the most media coverage. [1] (Figs. 1 & 2) Since its creation in 1992, it has been the venue for innumerable major cultural and social demonstrations, but with its mixed and not always compatible clientele the square’s big outdoor performances and unifying events have been punctuated by frequent social tensions. The half-min- eral, half-green urban square takes up an entire city block in a spatially unstructured environment flanked by office tow- ers, a shopping centre and the Montréal bus terminal. It is located in the heart of Montréal, amid a cluster of impor- tant cultural and educational institutions and critical traf- fic networks, and surrounded by several important neigh- bourhoods: Old Montréal, the future Entertainment District and the Gay Village. ( Fig. 3) Over the years, the square has garnered a great deal of attention, both for the specific uses made of the space and for its landscape strategy. Place Émilie-Gamelin was seen as a turning point in the way public space was conceived in Montréal. The narrative ap- proach, an explicit strategy on the part of the designers from the earliest inception of the project in 1992, ushered in a new class of public spaces in Montréal, one based on the city’s landscapes. [2] In fact, Place Émilie-Gamelin was one of Mon- tréal’s very first encounters with this approach, embraced by the designers under a specific municipal public procure- ment project as a means of creating meaning by associating certain physical traits of the city with the design parti. [3] Its contemporary layout by Peter Jacobs and Philippe Poul- laouec-Gonidec, its diverse programming and uses, and the sculpture by prominent Canadian artist Melvin Charney un- questionably set it apart from other public spaces in Mon- tréal. (Fig. 4) By examining the initial intentions of the de- signers, the mixed reactions of the media and the unexpected uses of the space, this article will demonstrate how the nar- rative approach provided the foundation of the project and how, over the years, the perceptions of different players and experts, as well as the actual uses of the space, have contin- ued to nourish and reshape the story. GLOBAL COST € 6 million CAD (1992) LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Peter Jacobs with Philippe Poullaouec-Gonidec, associate designer ARTIST Melvin Charney, sculptor ARCHITECT (METRO STATION) Jean Laberge D. FARLEY