Square Dorchester place du Canada
Square Dorchester place du Canada
Montréal (Québec), Canada

Commemoration and restoration plan for a public square

Dorchester Square was Canada’s wealthiest neighborhood at the end of the nineteenth century; its monuments and surrounding edifices are emblematic of the history and fabric of Montréal. Built between 1876 and 1880 upon a desacralized cemetery where 50,000 human remains are still buried, the square is significant in terms of archeology, architecture, and landscape history.

Commemoration of site history is foregrounded in the project. A subtle ground pattern of cross prints in staggered rows recalls the cemetery below. The proposal aims to restore the original Victorian public square, enhance links to urban generators of social activity, and remove incompatible uses to this classic oasis of grandeur in one of the city’s most venerable districts.

Client
City of Montréal

Collaboration
Consortium Cardinal Hardy / Claude Cormier + Associés inc. (Consortium CHA et CC+A)

Awards

2016
Tucker Design Awards – in collaboration with Groupe Cardinal Hardy

2013
Regional Honour – Canadian Society of Landscape Architects – Design

2012
Regional Honour – Canadian Society of Landscape Architects – Planning and Analysis

Year
2008-2010

Status
Built

Categories
Heritage
Master Plan
Park
Plaza / Garden
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2017 - Raphaël Thibodeau
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2011 - Marc Cramer
Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, BEFORE - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, BEFORE - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, BEFORE - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, BEFORE - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Square Dominion, detail of the Atlas Pinsonneault, Archives nationales du Canada, Ottawa, NMC-16305
Square Dominion (circa 1935) Collard, Edgar Andrew (1971), The Story of Dominion Square / Place du Canada, Don Mills, Longman Canada Limited, p. 47.
Square Dominion (1927), Archives nationales du Québec, Montréal
Plan - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Section - Consortium CHA et CC+A
Consortium CHA et CC+A
Montreal Canada East, From the Mountain - Edwin Whitefield, 1852, Archives nationals du Canada, Ottawa, c-622
General view with 11AS3 being excavated - Francis Lamothe (Ethnoscop)
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Photo, 2010 - Marc Cramer
Consortium CHA et CC+A
Photo, under construction - Denis Tremblay, Ville de Montréal
Photo - Denis Tremblay, Ville de Montréal
Watercolor, Dominion Square, Montreal - Albert Cloutier, 1953, from the book Cities of Canada.
Photo - Source inconnue