Claude Cormier - Architectes paysagistes
Landscape architects
SAINT JAMES CHURCH
MONTREAL (QUEBEC), CANADA

SAINT JAMES CHURCH

MONTREAL (QUEBEC), CANADA

Project
Church parvis
Client
L. M. Sauvé
Year
2004-2006
Status
Built

Constructed in 1889 as the largest Methodist church in the country, Saint James survived the lean years of the depression by building a veil of commercial real estate at its front steps. This concealed its neo-Gothic French façade and completely eliminated its public square facing Sainte-Catherine Street. Eighty years later, the veil has been lifted and the church façade restored, breathing new life into the public square. We installed a wall-to-wall herring bone paving of black granite, forming a dramatic stage floor to complement the theatrical red limestone façade. This graphically stunning pavement gives the church a renewed, bold presence in a dense downtown streetscape.

Surface
900 m2 (0.2 acres)

Prizes

Orange Medal - Sauvons Montréal / Héritage-Montréal
Restauration of St-James Church, Downtown Montreal






Credits

1. Perspective 02, Groupe Cardinal Hardy, October 2005
2. Marc Cramer, October 2007
3. Plan, CCAPI, April 2006
4. Before, Brian Ypperciel, July 2005
5. Historical photograph, Notman Photographic Archives, McCord Museum, around 1900
6. Marc Cramer, October 2007
7. Annie Ypperciel, September 2007
8. Annie Ypperciel, September 2007
9. Annie Ypperciel, September 2007