A little to the east of the city center — sufficiently detached for an office tower to stand out in the landscape — is a media monument of the Quebec landscape: the Maison de Radio-Canada. Built in 1973 to bring together all of the premises of the broadcasting company, which were then scattered over some fifteen buildings, the brown skyscraper has become an icon recognizable to all, in particular thanks to its clearly visible logo perched while high.
Occupied for nearly 50 years, the Maison de Radio-Canada had many faults, notably a lack of natural light, but the craftsmen loved it all the same. The documentary A building in ballast constitutes a last tribute to this brown tower which has housed many generations.
A colossal and impressive archive work composes the visual framework. We see in particular the transition between Bernard Derome and Céline Galipeau at the Newscastthe final scene of the last soap opera shot in the building, The Black Dog Inn, as well as excerpts from a plethora of shows, ranging from Bobino and Bobinette at Fury. The documentary also discusses the different rooms of the tower, such as studio 42, the huge costumer or even the simple corridors decorated with various works.
Added to these memories are the testimonials of dozens of craftsmen who nostalgically share anecdotes about the building as they prepare to move into their new offices. Patrice Roy sums up this feeling very well: “Yes, we have done great things in the tower, but we will do different things [certes], but also essential in this new building. »
To see in video