A Winter Garden at the Drill Hall/Armoury in Qubec City

A Proposal For A Public Use

By Marc Bdard Qubec, April 24, 2008 Revised May 16, 2009

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Foreword
I only learned the news in the morning of Sunday April 6th: the fire had destroyed the Mange militaire. I quickly passed the usual questioning to immediately concentrate on the aftermath by seeing at once the opportunity at hand in converting this destroyed building into something different, closer to contemporary needs of the city. This presentation is far from perfect and might lack the capacity to convey my enthusiasm concerning the importance and the interest of such a project. I am neither an architect nor an engineer. The idea came as spontaneously as possible as soon as I saw Le Soleils frontpage for that day. Men and women to whom I talked about the project unanimously and quickly replied how good an idea this was for the future of the Mange Therefore, the next step was to write down about the concept and provide as much information and visual as possible. This would allow as many people as possible to participate in its reality. If such a project receives the public approval at large; politicians, sponsors and investors give it consideration, it would be then easier to offer the city, its citizens and visitors such a building, joining the ranks of many metropolis worldwide that have chosen the same path for more than a century. It is a project that gives a second chance to the Drill Hall through integration within the citys activities rather than having the site being withdrawn and closed as it has been the case for too long. It would become a place of rest, of learning, conviviality, a haven of sun and heat during the winter months, a place to seek refuge from the rainy days as well. I could not go further than this in this idea without the support and the know-how of many people. In fact it is only my idea. From now on it belongs to everyone to put shoulder to wheel, to discuss, make drawing, small-scale models, 3-D animation, invest and establish bridges between the different levels of governments.

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he fire that destroyed Qubec Citys Drill Hall/Armoury on the evening of April 4th has taken everyone by surprise. At the time of writing this document, the causes of the fire are still unknown. In normal conditions, such considerable damages to a building would authorize to consider this a total lost. Yet, we are faced with a building of importance in the city, officially considered as an historical site at the federal level, though its design can hardly be seen to belong formally to a particular style. The building has been part of the citys history for more than a century. Undoubtedly, Qubec Citys Drill Hall is quite distinct on Grande-Alle, be it for its withdrawn location from the rest of the buildings, its imposing presence and its strange castle-like design. Home of the Voltigeurs garrison, ballroom at times for the public at large and other events in the past, the Drill Hall has practically become an expensive postcard decor for half a century. The April 4th fire provides us with an unexpected occasion to reflect upon the vocation of the great indoor space in the coming decades which would be more in tune with its massive nature in the city-core, whereas at the times of its construction in the late XIXth century it belonged more to the outskirt of town. I thus propose the conversion of the building into what I would call for the time being the Drill Halls Winter Garden or, in french Les Jardins dhiver du Mange militaire. Montreal has its Botanical Garden with its greenhouses, Vancouver is home to the Bloedel Conservatory, Paris has its Jardins des Plantes again with immense greenhouses. The list of cities being home to public Greenhouses is quite long and in most cases their construction dates back to the late XIXth, early XXth century. If for one moment we avoid mentioning the Roger Van den Hende Botanical Garden located on the Universit Laval Campus, Qubec City has no such winter garden where during all seasons and especially during the winter months, it would be great to see refuge from the weather in the middle of the vegetation in the warmth, to escape, to appease oneself, to gather, to admire the vegetal world. The prohibitive cost of rebuilding the original Drill Hall/Armoury is such that we are to consider a more public use of the building in the future. It has not been very accessible for a long time and its seldom military use is not integrated to the rest of the citys activities. To make use of the Drill Hill as a winter garden, a greenhouse, a

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haven of green in all seasons, especially during the long winter months, maximize the idea of a coherent city planning in such an urban context, thus joining the ranks of many cities equipped with winter gardens around the world, for recreational, touristic, natural and educational aspects.

Marc Bdard Qubec, Avril 14th, 2008 418.843.7388 em_ka_be@yahoo.ca Project Specifics

Made of bricks (inner layers) and stones (outer layers), the Drill Hall structure has in good part remained standing after the fire. Plans should be made to erect a concrete wall that would strengthen the inner brick layers making the inner structure of the building. This would provide for a solid and consolidated support also for the necessary steel (or otherwise) structure that would support the glass roof, thus saving the more fragile brick and stone wall that suffered from the heat and eventually the rain and moisture it will be exposed to in the coming weeks and months. In fact there is an urgency in providing some sort of blanket to the upper part of the brick and stone layers to avoid erosion of the old mortar. Eventually, the ground has to be cleaned up of all debris and care should be taken in dealing with the original fallen stones and other artefacts that can be saved. The ground should be cleaned up to the level of the original foundation. A drainage system should be put in place to clear rainwater, flood and the new activities going on in the greenhouse, such as the watering of plants. From a visual and actual site tour, our estimates consider the base of the foundation to be at about 1,66 m from street level, that is Avenue Wilfrid-Laurier. A first concrete floor should be poured below street level. A heating coil made of water pipe should be put in place as well as pipes for different use, such as electrical, water, etc. On top of a polymeric concrete floor, aggregates and soil of different types should start to form the main base for the vegetation.

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The glass roof supported by a steel frame structure conceived and erected by Canron Co. is a good concept to consider in view of the weight it will have to support and the stability of the material on the long run such as the Vancouver Law Courts seems to show some 30 years later in a seismic environment. It would be sitting on the concrete wall rather than on the original one. The thick glass used at the Vanvouver Court House seems also appropriate. A photovoltaic membrane could be added to the inner side of the glass to produce part of the energy required by the building. Blinds could also act as shades during hot summer days as well as provide energy with solar cell on one side. The natural light serves its purpose for plants but also for people. Studies show the benefit of lighting on the human psyche and finding it in a warmer environment has always been an interest of ours! On the rooftop small windmill could be installed that would not deteriorate de look of the Mange and provide the building with much of its energy needs since the wind is almost constant in that area. One could expect up to 100 000 watts could be obtained this way. The most advanced energy saving equipment should be installed in lighting and other situations. The original windows should be kept and enhanced with thermo glass. The smaller and lower windows would have a wide angle inside since the thickness of the concrete wall would make them otherwise useless. One of the features of that winter garden as I suggest would be a small caf/bistro/restaurant on the north side of the building the most exposed to sunshine. It would be a year-round open sky space where anyone can come at an affordable price. Different types of sounds and ambiances should be created for the winter garden such as natural sounds and original compositions though a quadraphonic sound system, thus creating a real-time natural atmosphere or scheduled events venues. In the park George V in front of the Mange, a tree alley would enhance the view from Grande-Alle, giving a sense of grandeur to the castle-like main entrance. The front garden needs to be part of the whole scheme and should be better used as a garden than it has been the case for too long. Wilfrid-Laurier Avenue should either be closed at that level or its asphalt and concrete sidewalks removed and replaced by cobblestones to make the area being more part of the whole concept of a park and its winter garden.

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We can already foresee the need of a second phase, a second greenhouse structure located in the back of the building that would espouse the Armoury style and provide for more space for plants and people. Being located in the eastern part of the structure and being exposed to sunshine from sunrise to around 18:00 pm in the summer months and from sunrise to 14:00 pm during the winter months, its purpose would be different from the original inner garden. A limited number of people should be able to enter at one time and a reservation system should be put in place that would depend on the frequency of visits by the same people, etc. We favour an entrance fee as low as possible but that would both give a value to the visit and still allow the citizens to participate to its success. Qubec Avril 14, 2008 and May 16, 2009 Marc Bdard 418.843.7388 em_ka_be@yahoo.ca

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Recommandations

The Drill Hall/Armoury (Mange militaire), adjacent buildings and the lands are under federal jurisdiction. The Drill Hall is under National Defence jurisdiction. As written before, it would be inadequate to rebuild the Drill Hall in its original state only for a weekly military practice, given the prohibitive price tag of such an idea. The federal jurisdiction is not in question here. Given the situation, the federal government would remain the owner of the site, but the site management could be attributed to an independent organisation which status have yet to be defined. It could be a public organisation, state-owned corporation, a foundation that would hold a long term lease on the site or a management contract for the rebuilding, the maintenance et the day to day running of affairs. A board of directors made of members from the government, partners in the project and members of the public at large should be created. The overall costs of the project can only be estimated at this point. One can expect a reconstruction cost of such a special building to be around 40 millions dollars, which is fair to say is at least half the price tag of rebuilding to its original content and design, prior to the April 4th fire. Entrance fees, the caf/restaurant/bistro and other activities linked to the vocation of the site should provide enough revenues to make this a successful and profitable venture. The caf/restaurant/bistro would offer an affordable menu during daytime and could offer a gastronomic menu in the evening hours. The entrance fees to access the Winter Garden should be as low as possible, yet enough to give a value to the visit. The year-round opening hours should be from 6:00 am to midnight. A reservation system might be needed to avoid overcrowding of the site. A maximum number of visitors should be allowed at once and a 10 % figure of people with no reservation should be allowed in. This is to make the journey within the parameters comfortable for everyone and safe for the vegetation. The northeast square pavilion should be used as the kitchen for the restaurant and the north west square pavilion for the military museum and the digital archives of the francophone army corps.

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Vue arienne de lensemble Site overview

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Vue de lObservatoire Marie-Guyart avec lalle darbres propose View from the Observatory of Marie-Guyart bldg. and the proposed tree alley

Vue de face avec lalle darbre et les petites oliennes Front view with the tree alley and the windmills atop the building

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Vue de la faade avec un vue intrieure du jardin dhiver Front view with a sneak view at the indoor winter garden

Il est tout fait possible de construire un toit de verre qui rend laspect original It is totally possible to build a glass roof that would give the original look

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Abbatiale Toussaint dAngers devenue muse Toussaint dAngers abbey, now a museum

Lincendie autorisa la conception dune toiture de verre The fire allowed for a glass roof concept

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Vue intrieur du muse David dAngers, ancienne abbaye Interior view of the David dAngers museum, formely the abbey

Verrire du Palais de justice de Vancouver Glass roof of the Law Courts, Vancouver

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Vue de la mosaculture des parois extrieures du muse de Quai Branly, Paris. Patrick Blanc a cr cette mosaque verticale laide de 15 000 plantes de 150 espces diffrentes. View of the mosaiculture of the external wall of Quai Branly museum in Paris. Patrick Blanc created the mosaiculture with 15,000 plants from 150 different species.

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Serres de Duthie Park Glascow, en cosse Greenhouses at Duthie Park, Glascow, Scotland

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Serres Washington, D.C Greenhouses