Little Burgundy Narratives: Una Chiesa-Caso Di Studio Di Riuso, Tecnologia
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NUMERO 10 - dicembre 2016 Michael Jemtrud Associate Professor of Architecture at McGill University. He is the former Director of the School of Architecture at McGill (2007-11) and Founding Director of two award-winning research labs: the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation (2007-current) and the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (2001-07, Ottawa). Little Burgundy Narratives: una chiesa-caso di studio di riuso, tecnologia, arte e beni comuni civici Eleonora Diamanti Eleonora Diamanti is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Urban Humanities at McGill University’s School of Architecture, Little Burgundy Narratives: and holds a doctorate in Semiotics from the Université du Québec à a case study of church repurposing, technology, arts, and civic commons Montréal (UQAM). Her research interests focus on urban culture, the festivalization and aestheticization of contemporary cities, media and ecology, and research-creation. Questo articolo si concentra sullo studio dello specifico caso This paper focuses on the specific case study of the Church della Chiesa di St. Joseph, una chiesa parrocchiale situata nel of St. Joseph, a parish church situated in the neighborhood quartiere di Little Burgundy nel quartiere sud-occidentale of Little Burgundy in the South-West borough of Montreal. It Kaj Huddart di Montreal. Ci si rivolge, in primo luogo, all’arco storico che addresses first the historical arc that has led to the church’s Research assistant at FARMM. He ha portato alla riproposizione della chiesa per poi discutere repurposing before discussing the specific intervention holds a B. Arts in Urban Studies l’intervento specifico di Little Burgundy Narratives, un of Little Burgundy Narratives, a digital portrait of the and his interests span architecture, urban design, history and culture. ritratto digitale del quartiere che circonda l’ex Chiesa di St. neighborhood surrounding the former Church of St. Joseph Joseph, nel tentativo di sostenere il suo nuovo ruolo di spazio in an effort to support its new role as a community space, comunitario, la tecnologia sfruttata ed i mezzi per aumentare harnessing technology and the arts to enhance the church’s il valore della chiesa come un bene civico comune. L’ex Chiesa value as a civic common. The former Church St. Joseph is a di St. Joseph è una testimonianza del crescente disuso e ri- witness of the growing disuse and re-purpose of places of vocazione di luoghi di culto ed un caso di studio rilevante per worship and is a relevant case-study for the understanding of la comprensione del futuro delle chiese in aree urbane. the future of churches in urban areas. Parole chiave: Luoghi di culto; Beni civici comuni; Realtà virtuale; Montreal; Canada Keywords: Places of worship; Civic commons; Virtual reality; Montreal; Canada http://in_bo.unibo.it NUMERO 10 - dicembre 2016 I. The present and future of churches in Canadian Catholics declined significantly over multifunctional, sports, and residential. The Montreal the second half of the 20th century amid Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Urban Heritage A multicultural city with a diverse population, the general secularization of society and at the University of Quebec in Montreal including a majority who identify as French- the relocation of those members to other (UQAM) has conducted an extensive research speaking Catholics, Montreal has an neighborhoods. Since 1991, the Church of St. project on this topic which helps us situate impressive architectural repertoire of disused, Joseph has been listed as a heritage structure the current situation of repurposed churches repurposed or abandoned churches. Within by the City of Montreal for its historic value. in Montreal. In her paper, “The conversion of Canada, contemporary Quebec has the It has been a witness of the urban renewal, churches in Montreal,” Lyne Bernier draws a peculiar paradox of being the province with de-industrialization, demographic change and complete portrait of the current situation, the lowest rate of religious attendance, but secularization of Montreal’s urban fabric. combining the numbers provided by the the highest rate of religious affiliation, thanks Montreal is a remarkable example to question Inventory and those by the CRC in Urban to large numbers of self-declared Catholics the future of places of worship, given the Heritage, and providing with statistics and – suggesting that Catholicism remains an architectural diversity of its religious heritage, data. According to Bernier and the CRC in important marker of secular Quebecois as well as the plurality of cultures and religions Urban Heritage study, 240 churches have been identity, despite the general desertion of the that characterizes its dynamically changing sold since the beginning of the 20th century, 70 church.1 As scholar Laurier Turgeon points population and urban fabric. It is important to out of which have been destroyed and 170 out: “The Québecois remain very sensitive to mention that the situation of Montreal differs repurposed together with 35 chapels. 4 their religious heritage, although less than 5% from the rest of the province of Quebec, As urban heritage specialist Luc Noppen of them actively practice today the Catholic particularly for the above-mentioned diversity writes: religion.” 2 and multiplicity of religious traditions that the An old tradition: in Quebec, churches have This paper will focus on the specific case city hosts, and for the number of churches been converted since 1925. That was the study of the Church of St. Joseph, a parish built in its urban area. 3 According to the year in which the Canadian Parliament voted church situated in the neighborhood of Little “Quebec Inventory of Places of Worship” through a law which founded the United Burgundy in the South-West borough of (Inventaire des lieux de culte du Québec), a Church of Canada, a body encompassing the Montreal. It will address first the historical large study conducted by the Québec Council Methodist, Congregationalist and Presbyterian arc that has led to the church’s repurposing for Religious Heritage in 2003, the number faiths. The surplus of churches created by the before discussing the specific intervention of of religious buildings (including churches, new law meant that a number of them had Little Burgundy Narratives, a digital portrait mosques, synagogues, and temples of to be closed and converted. Since then, many of the neighborhood surrounding the former different cults) built in the city of Montreal of these small Protestant churches have been Church of St. Joseph in an effort to support its before 1975 was 470. The inventory includes leading a new life as residential buildings, new role as a community space. also new uses for the buildings that have been restaurants, offices and workshops.5 The church long played a vital role in the local sold, grouped in the following areas: library, community, although its membership of French commercial, community, cultural, institutional, If a first wave of churches conversion started http://in_bo.unibo.it 69 NUMERO 10 - dicembre 2016 in the early 1920s in Montreal and touched such structures, and discouraged any attempt all these spaces and do we have the resources the Protestant architectural heritage, it to destroy them, or sell them to private necessary to carry out so many projects?” 10 In was especially after 1970 that this process investors for commercial or residential uses. this paper we will examine the former Saint- heavily impacted the Catholic Church, whose The Heritage Policy adopted by the City of Joseph church as a specific and exemplary presence is predominant in Montreal’s urban Montreal in 2005 (Politique du patrimoine de la case study, looking at its multifunctional fabric. In 1960-1970 the city of Montreal went Ville de Montréal) correspondingly encourages repurposing, which include a plan with private through an important phase of modernization to: “Privilege public and collective vocations in and public uses as well as a transfer to a that touched many of its neighborhoods. cases of repurposing of places of worship.” 7 different religious tradition through our virtual During this time, the key strategy was As an example, among others, in 2011 the reality project: Little Burgundy Narratives. demolition and reconstruction, and the future Montreal Museum of Fine Arts converted the The church is a witness of the growing disuse of churches became an important issue for Erskine and American United Church adjacent and re-purpose of places of worship and is a the Catholic Church, for public opinion and for to the museum into a Canadian Art pavilion, or relevant case-study for understanding the political institutions in response to this wave the former Saint Barnabé-Apôtre Church was future of churches in urban areas. of urban modernization. It is during this time converted in 2002 into an affordable cafeteria: This attempt at limiting the use of converted that Montreal witnessed the first conversions the Chic Resto Pop in the east of the island. Only churches in Montreal to public roles dovetails and repurposes of churches, a practice that very recently other functions were accepted, with an emergent trend gaining popularity became more common in the following years. such as sport and wellbeing centers. The among NGOs, municipalities and a growing As Noppen recalls: Saint-Jude church in the central and gentrified interest of academia in the commons. the The scandal caused by the sales accelerated Plateau Mont-Royal district became a spa conceptualization of