New ferry terminal in Old Montreal | A legacy for future generations

The Montreal Port Authority has made an important gesture in the reconstruction of the urban fabric of Old Montreal with the renovation of its ferry terminal. Not only has it preserved part of this maritime heritage, but it has also restored access to the river to Montrealers.

“It’s really a legacy that the port authorities wanted to leave to future generations,” explains architect Sonia Gagné, senior associate at Provencher Roy. “But we often had to step out of our comfort zone,” she admits bluntly to summarize the sum of the challenges faced by the project.

The list of achievements speaks for itself: a 65-meter observation tower, a pier lowered to the height of the river, a green roof, a long wooden terrace, a public garden, the development of a old hangar with an industrial character and other beautiful additions of this kind.

The result ? A ferry terminal – “one of the most beautiful in the world” according to M^me Gagné – which serves as both a gateway for tourists and a promenade for Montrealers.

Pedestrians are in fact the privileged users now on this quay, formerly exclusively used as a simple drop-off point for taxis and coaches. Large steps now allow them to go to a green terrace, from where they can better admire the giants of the seas, then to a public garden and finally to a public pier lowered to river level.

From the deck of their boat, cruise passengers first see a building with a rich past, topped by a large garden. It will be for them the first image that Montreal will offer them.

“The strategy was to create a humble landscape that preserves the importance of the site’s exceptional industrial history, while creating a warm and inviting new destination,” explains Josée Labelle, landscape architect at NIPPAYSAGE.

“We went from an inaccessible quay, completely made of concrete and bitumen, to a green public jetty,” summarizes Sonia Gagné.