The team of ADHOC Architects presents the project Your Place at the Table! in Montreal until October 2020, on Sainte-Catherine Ouest, corner Clark. The project was designed with the collaboration of graphic designers Maude Lescarbeau and Camille Blais. The colourful installation was conceived to safely accommodate and attract citizens currently reappropriating the downtown of Montreal after several weeks of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The layout is designed to offer passers-by a space to promenade or to sit and relax while respecting current sanitation and social distancing norms.
The team from ADHOC architectes was given the mandate to revisit the Hydro-Quebec park designed by Claude Cormier et Associés (2008-2012), which received multiple prizes for its ecological qualities. An enhanced, friendly and safe experience
Vibrant, custom graphic signage and enchanting lighting brighten up this usually quite a shady environment, creating a welcome atmosphere during the day and night. The color yellow is thus celebrated in this tone on tone installation. This festive, joyous, and luminous color palette attracts stares from passers-by and introduces a marked contrast with the monochromatic shades of the existing park. A truly colourful and vivacious oasis in the heart of downtown Montreal, the installation invites curiosity and discovery.
The project was conceived to allow Montrealers to reappropriate this public space while respecting the sanitary regulations defined by public health officials. A large structure and graphic arrow placed at the entrance of the park signals the beginning of the project. The public is then invited to discover the full length of the table and the place settings that punctuate it with eclectic collections of recycled objects. These iconic, gastronomic objects were judiciously placed to subtly foster intuitive social distancing. The redesigned space proposes 80 seats and encourages the direct support of 22 local restaurants reopening in the cafeteria of Le Central.
In conclusion, the project thus proposes for us to imagine a new way of sharing a moment collectively and safely at the same table. Come experience the art of the table, an attraction marrying local culinary offerings with the unique attractions of the Quartier des Spectacles. Your Place at the Table: a moment of reprieve, to eat and drink, night or day, sitting, standing, between friends or alone, as a couple or a family. Welcome!
Photo credit: Raphaël Thibodeau
