SITE
OF THE EVENT :
THE DES CARRIÈRES INCINERATOR - MONTREAL
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South-West
View of the des Carrières Incinerator
Source : J. Berthier |
THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE DES CARRIÈRES
INCINERATOR
Yesterday
The des Carrières incinerator, situated near the
Rosemont metro station and at the limits of the adjacent
Plateau Mont-Royal, in itself constitutes an undeniable
trace of Montreal's industrial past.
Inaugurated on September 15, 1970, this industrial complex
was innovative for its time and was hailed to become North
America's most modern incineration plant. Its primary function
was to burn hundreds of tons of Montreal domestic garbage
at a time. This futuristic technological engine burned garbage
at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and was equipped with a sophisticated
heat recuperation system which made it possible to sell
off the steam or to use it to heat the building itself.
The architectural components of the building are impressive:
besides its two gigantic smokestacks, measuring over 75
meters, the building has 7000 meters of available space
and an exterior access ramp through which trucks can reach
a garbage pit that can hold up to 2400 tons of garbage before
reaching full capacity. The total surface of the building
is 22 000 meters at a height of almost 30 meters.
Today
Today the des Carrières incinerator is undergoing
a process of transformation. The building stopped its industrial
activities in 1993 and is now the center of a visionary
project which will transform the building into a youth oriented
multidisciplinary and community center which will bring
together sports, the performing arts and multimedia. In
fact, the Montreal community organization, the TAZ, will
host the 6th MIVAEM in September 2004, and inaugurate the
brand new multidisciplinary youth activity center in the
transformed des Carrières incinerator in December
2004 (www.taz.ca).
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Nord-East
View of the des Carrières Incinerator, from rue
des Carrières
Source : J. Berthier |
CARTOGRAPHY AND SITE OF THE
MANIFESTATION
In the process of putting together the 6th MIVAEM our in
situ approach to the Rosemont-Petite Patrie borough led
us to an urbanistic reflection on the current division of
this territorial zone as well as its history and socio-economic
realities. The topology of these sites will serve as trigger
for discussions on contemporary architecture and will guide
the artistic and descriptive interventions that will make
up the project.
An Urban Landmark
It would not be exaggerated to call the des Carrières
incinerator an urban landmark both because of its situation
in the middle of the island of Montreal, and of the far-reaching
visibility of its smokestacks. Furthermore, the cohabitation
of the building with the residential fabric of Rosemont
makes it a signpost and beacon of the neighborhood. The
des Carrières incinerator's exceptional status in
its relationship to its surrounding neighborhood is something
that Champ Libre seeks to foreground.
SCENOGRAPHY AND DIFFUSION
During the DESERT biennial Champ Libre will propose an
in situ scenographic intervention which will highlight
the different architectural spaces of the des Carrières
incinerator.
The scenography will be conceived in collaboration with
a Montreal architect so as to maximize the functionality
of the various places to be set up in the incinerator,
all the while promoting an aesthetic approach that corresponds
to the scale of the building.
The presentation of the works themselves and the design
of novel presentation structures will focus on the increasingly
narrowly defined relation between the work, the concrete
context of its diffusion and the audience's perception
within the interior spaces of the incinerator.
The biennial will also present the opportunity to set
up a modular and evolutive diffusion structure to explore
different diffusion possibilities for the 6th MIVAEM artistic
program.
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SLIDE-SHOW |
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Click
on the image to launch the slide-show |
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The des
Carrières Incinerator in the Island
of Montréal |
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The des
Carrières Incinerator in the Rosemont-Petite-Patrie
district |
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Aerial
View showing the des Carrières Incinerator |
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