PAC Museum: New Mariner's House Pavilion

The Mariners' House
Inauguration

March 6, 2013

The Mariners’ House is the Pointe-à-Callière (PAC) Museum's first step toward creating the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex. This project is expected to be completed by 2017. The building, PAC Museum's fifth pavilion, is located at the junction of Place d'Youville and Place Royal. It was renovated and redesigned by Dan S. Hanganu and Provencher Roy + Associate architects, the same consortium that designed the Éperon building – the PAC Museum’s main building, as well as the archaeological crypt underneath the Place Royal square.

Two pictures above show two historical faces of the original building. Between 1875-1953 it was the Montreal Sailors’ Institute. Then it was rebuild and from 1954 to 2012 it housed homeless people and was called The Résidence du Vieux-Port (The Old Port Residence).

Presently, the architects have redesigned the building to make the new Mariner's House a contemporary, urban structure that blends seamlessly with the Museum’s Éperon building that was built in 1992. As you can see in the photo at the top of this post, the façade on Place d’Youville has a two-storey glass curtain wall that brings in a lot of natural light. This gives the building a sense of transparency and invites visitors to explore this new space.

During the renovations of the Mariners’ House, the project crew was surprised to find a time capsule buried when the building was erected in 1953-1954. The sealed box contained a number of symbolic items.  In the photo below to the left you can see its content. 

The new Time Capsule (on the right) was displayed at the new pavilion's inauguration ceremony. However, its contents were not shown or revealed. A signed list of dignitaries present at the inauguration ceremony was inserted inside the capsule.

A number of special elements can be discovered in the new pavilion. For instance, the back of foyer opens onto a monumental staircase. Its back wall  displays an original work of art by Montréal artist Nicolas Baier.

The building's many windows, especially those on levels 3 and 4, offer views of the Old Port, the St. Lawrence River, and Old Montréal.

The new pavilion serves many purposes. At the  basement level there is an educational area for children where they can participate in their own "archaeological digs", by searching for pieces of historical treasures in sand boxes.

The temporary exhibition spaces are located on two levels, the ground and the first floor. On the ground level, there is also a large projection-theatre room.

The first floor also houses the PAC Museum's souvenir boutique, as seen on two pictures just below.

The third floor is taken up by the museum's offices. And the top forth floor has a magnificent glassed in reception area, with a superb view of old Montreal.

To find out more about the current and upcoming exhibitions, visit the  PAC Museum's website

http://pacmusee.qc.ca/en