Twenty years after the inauguration of their first project in the Queen City, Quebec landscape architect Claude Cormier and his firm, CCxA — the team behind the Place Ville Marie ring — continue to breathe life into their “Montréal” in Toronto. Their next two achievements will certainly be the most dazzling since their arrival in the metropolis.
Marc Hallé, president of CCxA and long-time colleague of Claude Cormier, was meeting with an architecture class from the University of Toronto during a recent business trip. “Do you have fun at the office? asked the students. “I answered yes, but that we didn’t have to work too much on it because we live in Montreal, which already brings a lot of pleasure and joy,” says the Fransaskois.
If pleasure is so much a part of CCxA’s projects, it’s mainly because “the idea of pleasure is part of Quebec culture,” says Claude Cormier. The cohabitation with the comedy community — one of the most flourishing artistic circles in the province — “certainly colored our work and our approach,” continues the architect. This dimension “allows us to distinguish ourselves in Toronto and in English Canada”.
The firm has brought fun to Toronto, says simply Susan Herrington, a professor at the University of British Columbia who has published a book on Mr. Cormier. The next two projects, which will be inaugurated this summer, are only the latest examples. The first is an esplanade on the shores of Lake Ontario offering stunning views of downtown; the second, Love Park, is an island of greenery with a heart-shaped pond in the center.
The importance of risk
Such projects will encourage exchanges within the community, emphasizes Susan Herrington. Architects talk about the theory of triangulation. “It’s the idea that when something unusual happens in the urban environment, you’ll be more likely to converse with the person near you,” she explains. This is the case, for example, in Berczy Park, of a fountain of dogs spitting water jets created by CCxA in Toronto, she points out.
A park of water-spitting dogs was bold, but only cities without sex appeal don’t take any risks,” says Claude Cormier. “Look at the cities where the degree of happiness is the highest, like Copenhagen and Berlin. Why do we have a feeling of being there? he says. According to his colleague Marc Hallé, architectural projects alone cannot improve public happiness, but “what design can do is create an experience that meets people’s genuine desire to create an irresistible and unforgettable place”. he indicates.
“A well-done project can promote fantastic things, but if it is not well designed, if it deteriorates, it gives a bad feeling to the population”, analyzes Alissa North, a professor of architecture at the University of Toronto. The quality of the materials, she says, is important for this reason. The very composition of the space is also: the noise of a truck will reverberate less on the grass of a park than on the concrete, raises Susan Herrington.
More Montreal
Claude Cormier’s projects leave no one indifferent; it’s one of her most important contributions to the landscape architecture community, says Alissa North. Her projects look simple, says Susan Herrington, “but that simplicity is very complex,” she says. The Quebecer and his team are “pushing the limits”, according to the professor from the University of British Columbia.
Now is a good time in Toronto for spaces like Love Park to open, thinks Marc Hallé. In Montreal, the culture of sharing public spaces is more important, since the city is older and denser, and the population therefore does not have as many private outdoor spaces as the Queen City. “In Toronto, it’s a recent phenomenon, with the construction of condos,” he continues. The Love Park is suitably surrounded by huge apartment towers.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.