Life, the city | Ron Rayside: the social architect

Our journalist travels around Greater Montreal to talk about people, events or places that mark urban life.

His involvement is everywhere in Montreal, it was highlighted when he won the Social Commitment prize given by the Order of Architects of Quebec in 2019.

Ron Rayside’s firm is indeed behind projects from one end of the island to the other, whether it is the Maribourg Corporation, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, which will result in 700 affordable rental housing units, the Maison d Haiti, in Saint-Michel, or the conversion of a church in Ville-Émard into a performance hall, the Théâtre Paradoxe.

But his neighborhood is the Centre-Sud, where he has lived for 45 years – in the same building on rue de la Visitation – and where the offices of Rayside Labossière are (for which he has been practically a volunteer for 24 years). His team counts among its achievements the UQAM fashion pavilion, the Youth Refuge, the premises of the Cactus organization, the newspaper The Itineraryetc.

For the 76-year-old Montrealer, architecture is “about making people’s aspirations physical” and inspiring them. “It’s also about giving a home to a social vocation. »

“There is no small or large architecture: it is everywhere in daily life,” he argues.

Beyond his profession, Ron Rayside is a “social developer”, as evidenced by the list of countless consultation tables, neighborhood committees and boards of directors of which he is a member. Very involved in the health sector, he was notably president of the Jeanne-Mance health and social services center.

Since its beginnings, Rayside Labossière has been a private company driven by ecological values ​​and whose profits are mainly reinvested for social purposes such as in an NPO.

And why not choose to design luxury house plans instead? we say to its founder. Ron Rayside emphasizes having been inspired by Joseph Baker, his professor at McGill University. The latter fueled the first thoughts on social housing from an equity perspective, while we were witnessing the emergence of the first legal and community clinics.

In the 1970s, Ron Rayside was the architect for the town of Fermont. Before abandoning his profession somewhat to get involved in activist presses, he lent his expertise to the opening of a daycare in Mile End. This was well before the creation of early childhood centers in 1997 – and it was the first in a long series (Sourithèque, Enfants Soleil).

In 1985, Ron Rayside co-founded the firm BDPR and the one that bears his name was created in 2000, before Antonin Labossière became his partner.

An unprecedented housing crisis

What does Ron Rayside think about the housing crisis that makes headlines every day? “Since I have been practicing, this is the first time that the housing crisis has reached this extent across the province and the country,” he said straight away.

We have seen an explosion in construction costs, but also land selling for more than its real value (because of its zoning, for example). Result: real estate construction players want to make their purchase profitable. “If you buy a plex that is too expensive, you will increase rents further. It’s called human nature,” he illustrates.

This is why Ron Rayside strongly believes in dialogue and transparency when it comes to density and affordability, for example. “We must share knowledge, data and figures. I share the calculations of my reasoning. »

He believes in the goodwill of elected officials, promoters and citizen groups, but they must be able to share their concerns and intentions. Otherwise, each actor has blinders on and is “in reaction” to the vision of the other.

And what does he think of the urgency to build? “It’s variable geometry,” he replies. Sometimes, the urgency is not whether the work will begin in 2025 or 2026, but in the time that has elapsed since the start of the announcement. »

Patience

Patience is certainly one of Ron Rayside’s great qualities, who no longer counts the hours of citizen meetings in which he has participated (sometimes every weekday evening!), notably for the former Hippodrome site.

Yes, areas with fallow land take time to revitalize. However, things end up getting done… The proof: a few days after our interview, the City announced its master plan for the Hippodrome.

There’s also the CHUM, for which Ron Rayside advocated for a downtown location (after years of debate) before becoming part of the advisory committee.

A more recent sign of hope? The conversion in Laval of the former convent of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculée-Conception into a headquarters for social economy businesses by the Collectif Autour d’une tasse. The name of the project: The Village by the River. “We brought everyone to the table,” rejoices Ron Rayside.

And “his” Village?

The architect who has always had homelessness at heart, however, is concerned about his neighborhood.

The balance is so complex between the right to live and the security of the neighborhood, he explains.

The architect also wonders if the population understands to what extent the Centre-Sud will be transformed with the future Quartier des faubourgs (which includes the former Brasserie Molson and Maison de Radio-Canada, and the Esplanade Cartier). “There are 13,000 homes and 25,000 people who will be added to the 50,000 people in the Center-South. Do people understand the magnitude of it? »

This is why he plans to organize an event with all the players involved – from developers to citizens including the Center-Sud Community Development Corporation – so that everyone has the same overview. He wants to continue what he has won numerous career awards for: “establishing a climate of collaboration”.