Grand Marché de Québec
“Although the project is recent, the new Grand Marché de Québec is a concrete example of the quality described above. To meet the needs of a market and its visitors and to maintain a privileged contact with the producers and processors of the region’s products, a building with heritage value was recycled into a public market with efficient, sustainable and aesthetic infrastructures. Everything in the choice of materials added (wood, concrete and huge skylights for natural light) combined with the existing ones (steel, brick) was first made to generate a simply functional experience. Then the balance between function, versatility of the spaces and their durability welded the experience of discovery, of communication between a producer and the consumer. At the end of this great project of relocation of the most important public market of the City, which was not done without some anxiety or opposition to change, it is now possible to perceive the emergence of positive aspects for the community and the urbanization of the area that is being renewed. New medium-density buildings are being built nearby, a huge shopping center from another era is being transformed into “a new living environment in the heart of the city to accommodate 4,000 new residents”, which is also “a mixed project on a human scale and a living environment that will last for years to come”.
The requalification of the exhibition center and particularly the transformation of a heritage building (the Pavillon du Commerce, built in 1925) is an example of quality. It is a place with large halls, generous openings, an east-west orientation favorable to generous natural lighting and which was topped by a second floor that allowed the addition of functions but also the creation of sub-places that inhabit the volume and offer different scales to visitors.
Whether it’s the family area or the open, light-filled mezzanine that welcomes the youngest (photo 2); or the chefs’ table – a collective cooking area that brings people together and is displayed like a public showcase (photo 3); or the market gardeners’ alley that subtly divides the territory and marks the stall (photo 4), everything is designed to make the customer experience unique.”(Booklet Positive Lived Experiences of Quality in the Built Environment 2024, p.139).
Image caption with copyright owner (ideally):
Grand marché de Québec : architects Circum and Atelier Pierre Thibault in Consortium
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