Beauty. It’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of the late architect Claude Provencher. This man was passionate about the beauty of the country and he knew how to share his passion with us.
When his hand holds the pencil, his gesture strongly impregnates the street he draws; the buildings he creates or recreates become landmarks in the city; the landscape that contains us lights up. Emblematic places such as the Center de commerce mondial, the Samuel-De Champlain bridge, the Balmoral block, the Musée des beaux-arts du Québec or the reception pavilion of the National Assembly are all interventions that bear the mark of Provencher and make us want to take care of the country.
With his desire for modernity combined with his constant search for excellence and his talent for achieving it, he sublimated the architectural profession and raised its standards. He knew how to use architecture to bring beauty to our cities, to our streets. With a beautiful mixture of reason and fantasy, our cities and our streets thus become more beautiful under his impulse. His works are so many paintings that reveal their grandeur and beauty to us, forcing contemplation. I also suspect him of having already sketched out a few ideational sketches for the land of memories. This country where he left will now be more beautiful because he is there.
Generosity. A second word that evokes Claude Provencher well. We were colleagues for about ten years on the Conseil du patrimoine culturel du Québec, a consultation organization that I chaired since its creation in 2011 and of which Claude was one of the members with me.
While he ran a company of several hundred employees, despite all the responsibilities that entailed, in the middle of designing a stadium, a hospital, a school or an airport, he never did not hesitate to generously devote his time to help us. Calmly, in a very soft voice, even too soft, he impressed us with his moral authority.
He instilled in the Heritage Council the rigour, openness and formidable culture of creative doubt that have made this organization a respected institution. It is thanks to fine minds like Claude’s that this advice became and remains a reassuring force.
I have always appreciated the intensity of his approach. For him, there was never a big or small dossier, a more or less interesting project, proposals worth considering and others not. There were only projects worth improving. Excellence is the only thing on which Claude would never have compromised.
Elegance. This is another word that comes to mind when I think of this exceptional man. Elegance ceases when you notice it, said Jean Cocteau, the one who was called the poet of all elegances. These elegances that we do not notice, but which bewitch us, are also those of Claude Provencher. But its greatest elegance will always have been that of the heart. His courteous and respectful approach to his colleagues has always enabled Claude to promote and accept innovative and promising ideas. He mastered the art of persuasion.
Thus he was the instigator of the inclusion in the new cultural policy of Quebec of a Quebec strategy for architecture. I want to remind him. It is indeed under his leadership that the Cultural Heritage Council and the Order of Architects have together defended with conviction, with four Ministers of Culture, this idea of strategy now become a national policy announced last fall. by the prime minister. A big step for the quality of life of Quebecers and to better reflect our cultural identity.
The history of Quebec can be combined in several ways. One thing is certain, it also combines in the manner of Claude Provencher.
For all that, thank you, Claude.