LINKS
· Association des petits lieux d’art et de spectacles (APLAS)· BonjourQuébec.com
· Culture Montréal
· La Vitrine, Montreal's Cultural Window
· Montreal Trend Chart (Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal)
· Site Culture de la Ville de Montréal
· Tourisme Montréal
· Urban Development Institute of Quebec
To establish overarching orientations for the development of this lively part of downtown, the members of the Partnership have collaborated to create a vision based on the enhancement of the neighbourhood's cultural assets. This document describes this vision as well as the plans presented to the public in June 2004.
BUILDING A FRAMEWORK
USE CULTURE AS A LEVER FOR DEVELOPMENT
The Quartier des spectacles is a true centre of cultural creation, exhibition, and broadcasting. To consolidate and support the neighbourhood's vitality requires initiatives that use its existing cultural assets, such as the creation of affordable studio spaces.
CREATE A DISTINCTIVE ICONOGRAPHY AND SIGNATURE
The lively cultural character of the Quartier des spectacles makes it one of Montreal's must-see attractions. Sainte-Catherine Street forms the backbone of its identity, where various cultural spaces are highlighted by special street furniture, and installations reveal the area's creative abundance.
HARMONIZE ACCESS AND TRAFFIC FLOW
Access to the cultural nodes of the Quartier des spectacles is ensured through managing parking lots and reinforcing pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connections – with neighbouring areas and with the broader region.
USE THE FOUR SEASONS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
To maintain the vitality of the Quartier des spectacles 365 days a year requires bringing life to the public spaces that are currently underutilized, and taking advantage of Montreal's underground city.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
INVEST IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD'S SYMBOLIC AND HISTORIC HEART
Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Sainte-Catherine Street cross the Quartier des spectacles and meet one another at its centre, the intersection of Montreal's "Mains". It deserves a major architectural intervention, including a starting point from which Montreal's culture can be discovered.
REINFORCE CULTURAL DESTINATIONS
Cultural activities are currently concentrated in three nodes: Place des Arts, where public spaces spread out from its esplanade. The Quartier Latin, contemporary and lively, where public spaces must increase the visibility of adjacent activities. The intersection of the "Mains", where innovation takes place: a creative node.
CONNECT THE EASTERN AND WESTERN NODES
Sainte-Catherine Street is the neighbourhood's commercial axis, the driving force of its identity. The continuity of its built form must be reinforced to favour street life throughout the year. De Maisonneuve Boulevard connects many cultural institutions.
Reconfiguring the streetscape for pedestrians will enhance these spaces by linking the nodes of the Quartier des spectacles.
STIMULATE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Clustered residential development on the periphery of the neighbourhood helps residential areas coexist comfortably with cultural events. This approach supports local services that stay accessible during major events.
10 MAIN ORIENTATIONS
1. A NEIGHBOURHOOD IN BALANCE
The Quartier des spectacles is characterized by the harmonious coexistence of diverse residents and its varied functions: a centre for community, student, and artistic life; an urban crossroads; an international destination. A colourful neighbourhood, it is as safe as it is refreshingly different. The Quartier des spectacles is at the junction of economic, cultural, and urban life.
2. A HUB OF ARTISTIC CREATION, INNOVATION, PRODUCTION, EXHIBITION, AND BROADCASTING
The Quartier des spectacles, as a true cultural node, has what it takes to draw businesses that promote, produce, create, exhibit, and broadcast culture. Together with its partners, the Quartier des spectacles Partnership develops the necessary tools - financial and otherwise - to spur the establishment of cultural businesses, artists' residences, and programs to help all its residents become property owners.
3. AN INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL DESTINATION AND CENTRE FOR ARTISTIC CREATION
Expressive of Montreal in its very essence, the Quartier des spectacles is a popular international destination, a workshop of cultural creation and display that is a centre of urban tourism. It attracts foreign visitors and artists and raises the profile of local creators.
4. THE STREET: A LIVE WIRE, A CIRCUIT OF DISCOVERY
Visitors first experience the Quartier des spectacles by exploring its vibrant streets. With their ground-level storefronts, predominantly cultural establishments, each street is a window to the varied worlds of culture. The neighbourhood's thoroughfares, Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Sainte-Catherine Street, as well as its main nodes of activity, are clearly marked for visitors.
5. A COHERENT AND COMPLETE NEIGHBOURHOOD,CONNECTED TO ITS NEIGHBORS
The streets of the Quartier des spectacles keep a special rhythm that makes it easy to follow a lively route from one place to the next. The gaps created by vacant lots have been bridged; the urban fabric has been rewoven. Streets link the
neighbourhood's various nodes and integrate it with the surrounding areas - the Quartier international, the Palais des congrès, Chinatown, the business district, Plateau Mont-Royal, and more. Real estate and economic activity is on the upswing and furthers the neighbourhood's cultural character and sustainable development.
6. PUBLIC SPACES: PLACES FOR ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
Public spaces in the Quartier des spectacles are a place to celebrate the arts all year long. Artworks are an integral part of new squares and buildings. Spaces are "signed" and included in a discovery route. Sidewalks are vibrant, greener, and enlivened by street-level businesses.
7. PERMANENT FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The Quartier des spectacles is home to permanent facilities for local, national, and international events. These facilities connect to infrastructure and support services, making it easy to organize and manage the neighbourhood's seasonal and permanent cultural activities and allowing it to remain active year round.
8. A UNIQUE SIGNATURE, A DISTINCTIVE ICONOGRAPHY
The Quartier des spectacles projects a strong, inclusive image. Its signature is the Partnership banner and the public symbol of cultural activity in downtown Montreal. A distinctive iconography clearly guides pedestrians, both to the neighborhood's axes and centres of activity and from adjacent destinations and the underground city.
9. A LIVELY, CONTEMPORARY FLAVOUR
The Quartier des spectacles fosters the built and cultural heritage of tomorrow. Its lively, contemporary character and constant evolution are reflected in its artistic creation as well as in its architecture and urban design. It enables creators and artists from here and elsewhere to stay at the cutting edge of their field. The Quartier des spectacles is focused on sustaining this quality.
10. THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES PARTNERSHIP, CREATOR AND PROMOTER OF THE VISION
The Quartier des spectacles Partnership plays its role as the creator of the vision for the neighbourhood and provides the leadership necessary to realize this vision in the domains of art, business, and public administration. The Partnership works to establish management models for implementing a range of public, private, and partnership projects, and to integrate them into its vision for the neighbourhood.
If you want to learn more about our vision, please visit the Publications section.
These documents are available:
• New short vision document (2006)
• Presentation of the vision (2004)
