OUTAOUAIS REGIONAL MUSEUM
PHASE A | UNDERSTANDING
Culture and world views work hand in hand. Chaudière Falls, a meaningful site for the Indigenous communities and European settlers, can be viewed as the relationship between the two parties. The water represents culture - both are present, no matter the time and space, but change to adapt. The water seen from a given position on the bridge represents a specific world view, and often opposes the view on the other side. One side sees a place of communication, while the other sees industrial potential. The red bridge, which mimics the old bridge on Chaudière Falls, highlights that the site can be redesigned to benefit the Indigenous populations once again, as a step towards meaningful reconciliation.
This project consists of the adaptive reuse of the former E.B. Eddy Complex into the Outaouais Regional Museum. Situated on the north side of the Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River, the site is found in a vibrant cultural landscape rich in tangible and intangible heritage value. The adaptive reuse of the E.B. Eddy Complex has the potential to renew the site’s active social role in contemporary society and preserve the cultural heritage of the Outaouais region and unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabe. To develop an appropriate adaptive reuse, interventions were realized through an understanding of the narratives and evolution of the site overtime, and its existing conditions and constraints.
PHASE B | PLANNING
The idea of the “Other” both throughout history, in the present, and in the future, is represented by a sinuous form - to represent the Kichi Sibi and the Falls - and a rectilinear one - to represent the industrial buildings in their form. These interactions are manifested architecturally through the clashing and weaving of sinuous forms in an otherwise harsh rectangular space. These can be seen both in plan and in perspective views, which also promote the idea of the “Other” through moments of acknowledgment throughout the site. Moments of acknowledgement are distributed in three distinct spots on the site to promote the acknowledging the “Other” in a tangible sense by placing other visitors in view with the landscape.
The public and private spaces are organized to not only centralize the exhibition spaces, but to make use of existing elements, such as loading docks, open spaces, etc.
PHASE C | INTERVENING
In order to preserve as much as possible on the site, interventions were only made to heavily-deteriorated parts of the building facades, and were replaced by new material that matches the aesthetic of the removed material. Interior CDE’s such as the beams in building 6 and the trusses in building 2, are preserved and serve as a representation of the industrial history of the buildings.
building 8 | welcome hub
building 8 | auditorium
building 12 | bar cafe
building 6 | short-term exhibition
BUILDING 1 INTERVENTION
Using principles of anti-restoration, the team decided to create a provoking architectural statement to draw passerbys onto the site but to also frame the context of the site as a whole by using only a fraction of it. On one hand, individuals across the street see the welcome hub and site frames with the ruins of building 1, as it implies the past and “what could have been” on the site. The opposing view frames the current context of the intersection and the brutalist buildings that surround the site to refer to “what can be”. The team is aware that this intervention is not meant to last forever, and this intervention is meant to convey that while the building is still standing, it will be cherished and celebrated.
This moment of acknowledgment involves those on the museum site and outside of it. This pathway is meant to break the linear circulation on the existing site with a sinuous line, but still opens up to allow for bikers and pedestrians to pass through. Like the first scene, these views frame two distinct scenes - one shows the built environment, the other shows the Montcalm-Tache Park adjacent to the site and the Ottawa River. This balance between the built and the natural is reflected in the contrast between indoor and outdoor positions. Using philosophies from stylistic restoration, this intervention produces a space that may have never existed.
TUNNEL FROM BUILDING 8 TO BUILDING 2
BUILDING 2 EXHIBITION SPACE
The final view for visitors is the second floor of the long-term exhibition space in building 2, where layers of history are seen - reserves in the basement form the foundation and to represent the past, artifacts are displayed on the ground floor to represent the present, and the mezzanine looks out onto both to represent the future. These views of the surrounding buildings and the water are obstructed by other visitors. Here is the final moment of acknowledgment, a view to frame the future and the presence of the “Other” within it.
Panel representation of layered narratives and interventions.
This project was completed in collaboration with Isabel Sales and Slade Solomon for ARCS3302 | Conservation Studio III. January-April 2023.