If the savage destruction of the Center commercial of the Domaine-de-l’Estérel, in the Laurentians, by the real estate empire Olymbec (which for its part defends the thesis of “accidental” destruction attributable to NZO Construction, the contractor in charge of demolishing the rear part) constitutes a disaster for the heritage of Quebeckers and all Canadians is also a test for our judicial system. The historical and heritage importance of the building has been highlighted on a few forums in recent days.
Nevertheless, the sequence of this violent crime raises several questions, and certain murky elements of this sad affair could once again inspire the Belgian thriller novelist Georges Simenon who frequented the field in the 1930s.
Authorized demolition work on the unlisted part of the building began on Monday 9 May. Two days later, in The duty, photo evident in support, the modern architectural heritage preservation organization Docomomo is sounding the alarm and summoning the State, but also civil society, in the face of the imminent threat of total destruction of the jewel. Is the provincial government notified at this time?
This modernist monument built in 1936 was located on the path named after its builder, Baron Empain, just before he entered a peninsula, where you have to retrace your steps. Seen from the air, there are about sixty houses there. Therefore, several residents will necessarily have seen the crime. Friday, May 13, the mechanical shovels attack the remaining classified part of the building. In the space of an episode of Netflix, the art deco pearl is over.
It is easy to understand that the safeguard of human life takes precedence over that of the built heritage, but did we call the SQ during the package? There is a post in Rawdon, the other in Sainte-Agathe, each about half an hour away. Has the municipality been contacted, and has it dispatched an inspector? Did he try to stop the drama? Finally, no one to enforce the law. The smoking ruin is located in the hollow of a small bay called Bay of Despair, a cruel irony of fate.
The State must equip itself with the means to crack down on the violation of the law, but also to prevent it. It is our civic responsibility to provoke and stimulate the preservation of our architectural heritage, each in their own way. My documentary cinema — Roger D’Astous, Luc Durand Leaving Delhi — reveals characters, events and buildings that have made Quebec. When these landmark buildings are assassinated by a multinational corporation that knowingly flouts the law, I rebel.
The Ministry of Culture and Communications is being pointed a lot of the finger in this affair, with good reason. I dare to hope that the drama of L’Estérel will not be the last chapter of a long series of civic actions aimed at saving, but also at giving new vocations to the Estate. I salute in passing all these actors who have put their skills, talents and passions into it for so many years; the architects Jean Damecour, Philippe Lupien and the others, Docomomo, the Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson Historical Society, and so on. Your fight will not be in vain.
Real estate development is very legitimate, but it must be framed by robust legislation that severely punishes any promoter who plays with it. Our national respectability is at stake. The alleged culprit here is a multi-hundred million dollar financial empire that has committed a crime that is an insult to our collective heritage. It is important to set an example with a maximum fine and to order, as permitted by law, at Olymbec’s expense, the identical reconstruction of the Domaine-de-l’Estérel shopping center.
All things considered, France has done the same thing with Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral.