The Pierre Thibault workshop presents at the Grande Exhibition de l’Arsenal a project in the making carried out in collaboration with the residents of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleux, located on the Green Island, in Bas-Saint-Laurent.
An adventure that started with a library project in which the architect participated in this island municipality of 71 inhabitants.
“I was extremely inspired by the landscapes of the green island. To the north, one has the impression of being in northern Quebec. There is this poetry in the landscape, something primitive, ”notes the architect, just arrived in Venice, in an interview with The sun.
The architect will be in Venice until Sunday, but his exhibition will remain in place throughout the Biennale, until November.
One of the “boucaneries” of the green island with its twin structure built by the Pierre Thibault workshop. (Alex Lesage)
Unexploited heritage
“There is this fascine fascinated fishing history [une technique utilisant des structures de bois ou de branches afin de capturer des poissons] and the dozen old fish smokings [aussi appelés boucaneries] Always present on the island, ”explains the architect.
“These are very beautiful and higher than wide constructions that fall into disuse. I saw an unexploited heritage in it and I wondered what these smokings could become. ”— The architect Pierre Thibault, about the “boucaneries” of the green island
The architect therefore had the idea of creating ephemeral architectural constructions in order to raise awareness of the potential of these smugglers.
“We built contemporary silhouettes of these smokings and we walked on the island, one of which we rebuilt identically. It is a great participatory project with the people who live there and third-year students on the architecture program of Laval University. ”
-Vision
Pierre Thibault would see, among other things, the structures become greenhouses for this municipality which is not linked to the shore by ferry during the winter.
“Why not have products all year round instead of getting helicopter carrots during the winter?” he wonders.
He would also see certain structures or former smokings become small workshops of craftsmen or common houses. “We are going to chat with the population in order to see the possibilities.”
Citizens of the Green Island chat with the representatives of the Pierre Thibault workshop about the future of “boucaneries” and their twin structures. (Atelier Pierre Thibault)
Biennial
The project prompted the people of the Venice Biennale to invite Pierre Thibault and his team.
“At the start, we had to rebuild the structures that represent the smugglers in Venice, but, ultimately, it will be rather with immense photos that we will present the project,” explains the architect, stressing that the people of the Biennale quickly understood that the transport and installation costs would be significant.
“The initial project to the Biennale must have been changed, but the basic idea remains, is to show what collective intelligence can accomplish.”— The architect Pierre Thibault
Meanwhile, the “bubbling” and their twin structures remained on the green island and we even offered citizens to move them home.
“We will go back this summer to continue the dialogue, to see if the ideas have matured well and if we can collaborate for the continuation of things,” he ends the project to give a second life to the island’s smokings and the structures that he and his team have built in their image.
