The Architecture of the Musée de la civilisation

Harmony between the past and the present

Rooted in history and part of an exceptional archeological site, the museum is located on Dalhousie street, in the heart of the Old City, close to Place-Royale and just steps from the Old Port. Specifically designed in order to ensure its numerous cultural functions, it is the mainspring of development in the historic district.

Designed by architects Belzile, Brassard, Galienne, Lavoie & Sungur Incesulu from Québec, and Moshe Safdie, Desnoyers and Mercure, from Montréal, it has been awarded many prizes for its architectural qualities and its remarkable integration with the texture of Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The architectural concept was chosen by way of a public contest launched in November 1980.  Four years later, October 10, 1984 marked the inauguration of the building site. The official opening of the Musée de la civilisation took place on October 19, 1988.

The Museum is an attractive 20, 000-square meter building, bright and harmonious. A network of terraces and stairways criss-cross the exterior of the building, allowing visitors in summertime to stroll from one street to another, and to discover the city landscape and the river.

A happy marriage
The marriage of glass and stone with copper roofs was used to design a building that is remarkable, both by the quality of its materials and the harmony of its proportions. The roofing of overlaying diamond-shaped structures, dormer windows and skylights, easily fits in with the surrounding rooftops. The steeple keeps company with numerous other steeples that dot the district, and remains the best marker to spot the museum.

Elements from the past have been integrated into the contemporary building: an historic house dating from 1752, the Estèbe house; a stone embankement built around 1751; the vaults of the Pagé-Quercy house dating from 1764, and the old Bank of Québec, built in 1865. Furthermore, a long-boat, discovered during the excavation works, is on permanent display at the museum.

The choice of materials
Building materials for the exterior of the Museum come, for the most part, from the greater Québec City area, and have been selected with a constant concern for its integration into the neighbourhood.

The roofing is made of untreated copper that will acquire, through oxydization, the same greenish colouring as that of the Chateau Frontenac, an impressive edifice that has become over the years the great landmark of Québec City. The plain grey stone cladding used for the outer walls blends perfectly with the neighbouring buildings.

The abundant use of glass creates pools of light and transparent walls that remove all boundaries between the museum's interior and exterior.

For the interior, the architects selected granite and oak, both noble and solid materials. The doors leading to exhibition halls are made of oak; the flooring is pink granite, while polished black granite is used for the information booth and the "Friends of the Museum" stand.

A spacious interior
When entering the Museum from the Dalhousie Street main entrance, one is taken aback by the space and brightness of the hall. From the very first steps, links between the past and the present become apparent: the everpresent Estèbe House is cleary visible through a glass wall; a stone embankment, evokes the presence of the river on the site in early days, as does the emergence of "La débacle" (The Breakup) an environmental sculpture by Astri Reush. Selected by way of a national contest, as part of the national program for the integration of arts in architecture, the artist has created a work symbolizing the powerful ice flows during the springtime thaw.

The eleven exhibition halls, covering more than 5, 600 square meters, the information booth, educational workshops, cloakroom, snack bar, and auditoriums, the lunch areas for groups, and the meeting room for the "Friends of the Museum" are spread over two storeys, while the Museum Boutique is in the Estèbe House vaults. An elevated walkway crosses the entrance hall, connecting two exhibition galleries. The visitor's rest lounge offers a view of the Saint Lawrence River and the south shore. Personnel offices, on the other hand, are located in the old Bank of Québec and in the Estèbe house.

A living museum
Well integrated into the everyday life of Québec City and its landscape, the Musée de la civilisation has become one of its best-known symbols. It is an authentic public square, where some 2 300 visitors meet daily. In a short period of time, through its dynamism and its prestige, it has given a new impulse to Québec museology.