From September 12 to October 10, Next Generation Committee d'Héritage Montréal invited the next generation of heritage and planning professionals to reflect on the future of the former fort on Île Sainte-Hélène, which housed the Stewart Museum until 2021, as part of the 2nd edition of the Concours d'idéation de la relève. In the wake of the operationalization of the Parc Jean-Drapeau Master Plan 2020-2030, the members of Next Generation Committee (CORE) felt it was fitting to mobilize the next generation to submit innovative ideas for reviving this important site of Montreal's military heritage, located at the foot of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
Once again, the new generation has shown creativity regarding the future of a Montreal heritage site.
According to Nancy Elias and Gabriel Laferrière, co-presidents of Next Generation Committee, the second edition of the Ideation Contest was a great success. "The enthusiastic response to our invitation from the next generation of designers and our sponsors, the quality of the projects submitted, the scope of the popular vote, and the wonderful atmosphere at the closing ceremony and awards ceremony are all elements that have pleasantly surprised us and motivate us for what's to come.
Although participation was slightly lower than the previous edition, held in 2020, "this edition nevertheless reaffirmed an essential quality of the charrette: that of being inclusive, distinguishing it from other competitions of its kind," according to the co-chairs. "Indeed, by proposing open and varied themes, the charrette's formula attracts a diverse public who share a passion for heritage, addressing the next generation of architects and landscape designers as well as urban and environmental designers. With our goal of providing the next generation of designers with an annual flagship event that showcases their ideas, we look forward to refining the competition and bringing you the 2023 edition."
First Jury Prize, sponsored by EVOQ Architecture: "Primary Vocation

With a project anchored in the preservation of the history and essence of the site in order to respect its heritage character, Myriam Deragon and Étienne René-Contant propose to transform the old fort into an urban nursery. In addition to preserving and enhancing Quebec's rich biodiversity and the exceptional ecosystem of Mount Boullé on Île Sainte-Hélène, the site would produce plants for Parc Jean-Drapeau and would be a place for research and action to promote the transfer of knowledge through interpretation and awareness workshops. Through this intervention, the winning team turns the old fort into a fortress of urban biodiversity. Thus, the project proposes a link with the Campus de la transition écologique, current occupant of the former fort, as well as the neighbouring Biosphere, in addition to meeting the environmental objectives of the Parc Jean-Drapeau Master Plan.
Because of the challenge of accessibility of the site, we thought it was essential to find a very concrete use for it, to anchor the site in the great project of the park so that it could serve that greater purpose. To preserve a building, it is essential to give it a vocation. That was the big challenge, to find a use for it, especially with its somewhat recluse position, away from the city. We wanted to propose a project that would contribute to its influence on the citizens.
Myriam Deragon and Étienne rené-Contant, first prize winners
The jury members appreciated the overall proposal and its connection to the objectives of the Master Plan, as well as the quality of the speech and presentation. They also congratulated the team for their non-intrusive intervention, blending the built and the natural, conservation and transmission, celebrating the built heritage while giving it a contemporary and current use.
Second prize of the jury, sponsored by Passerelles - Coopérative en patrimoine: "La tablée

The project of the second prize winning team is based on the perpetuation and enhancement of the activities of the current tenant of the site, the Campus of Ecological Transition. Indeed, Julia Arvelo, Florence Barnabé and Muriel Bentolila have chosen to focus their intervention on the table, a symbol of gathering and sharing, and urban agriculture by deploying it along three axes: production, transformation and tasting. Thus, they propose urban gardens in the interior courtyard as well as workshops to raise awareness and provide training in urban agriculture, a harvest processing site in the old fort and a public market. Mobile and light tables, in tension with the imposing heritage building, complete the picture and invite visitors to appropriate the site through its multiple possible arrangements.
The site, its immediate environment and the possibilities that the ensemble offered were the starting points for our reflection, in addition to the fact that there is already an occupant, the Campus de la transition écologique. Its missions and axes of practice, notably urban agriculture, inspired us. From this emerged the idea of the table. We find it a very strong symbol of gathering, conviviality and sharing and we wanted to make it the focus of our intervention on the site; we made it a springboard to facilitate the appropriation of the old fort. These, and the proposed activities, thus become a call to the public to discover and appropriate this little known place.
Julia Arvelo, florence barnabé and muriel bentolila, second prize winners
The jury appreciated the exploitation of the agri-food cycle and its production cycle, well detailed in all their stages, and which certainly meets a current need, in addition to contributing to the resilience of urban environments. In addition, the fact that the project is aimed at a broad audience and is in line with the work and mission of the Green Transition Campus was positively received.
People's Choice Award, sponsored by the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau: "Fragment

This year, we invited the public to vote for their favorite project. Just over 200 people cast their votes and Anouk Hoffman-Morin and Jeanne Vincent's project "Fragment" received the most votes, 75, representing 35.9% of the votes.
Their project is based on a bold gesture, that of moving a section of the old fort into the interior courtyard in order to make it an object with sculptural qualities that can be discovered in all its facets by the public, in addition to offering vertical stage spaces for multidisciplinary artistic presentation. With this proposal, the team hopes to destabilize preconceptions about historic buildings and to lead the public to reflect on the very nature of the old fort. A collection of contemporary art by North American Aboriginal and Inuit artists in the large wing and a café opening onto the interior courtyard in the residual wing make up the project's planned uses.
The first thing that struck us was the thickness of the walls. We wanted to try to make it visible in a different way than when you enter or leave the building. It is an architectural curiosity that we wanted to put forward by cutting into the fort to reveal its structure, in addition to creating an architectural object that is highlighted in the interior courtyard. We also referred to the work of the artist Gordon Matta-Clark who has used this type of intervention on several occasions. Finally, as this is an ideation contest, we said to ourselves that we would propose a daring idea and that we would carry it to the end.
Anouk Hoffman-morin and jeanne vincent, winners of the public prize
Congratulations to Myriam Deragon, Étienne René-Contant, Julia Arvelo, Florence Barnabé, Muriel Bentolila, Anouk Hoffman-Morin and Jeanne Vincent who received, in addition to their cash prize, a poster of the 2021 campaign "Affiche ton patrimoine" created by Amélie Tourangeau.
We would also like to thank all the participants in this 2nd edition of the Next Generation Committee Ideation Contest, and invite you to discover the projects of each of the teams: Juan Fernando Barrionuevo and Alexandra Gagnon-Roy; Hadi Tamim; Fabio Lima and Xavier St-Jean Labrecque; Alexander Venditti and Matthew Venditti; Maude Pilarezyk and Philippe Pilarezyk; Martin Cheffins; Jean-Simon Bissonnette.
The projects submitted were evaluated by the following jury:
- Taïka Baillargeon, Assistant Policy Director, Héritage Montréal
- Jonathan Cha, Special Planning Advisor, Société du parc Jean-Drapeau
- Pierre Corriveau, associate architect at CGA Architects and president of the Ordre des architectes du Québec
- Frédérique Gagné-Thibault, Project Manager, Passerelles - Coopérative en patrimoine
- Mélissa Mars, interior designer and heritage consultant, EVOQ Architecture
About Héritage Montréal's Next Generation Committee
Héritage Montréal's Next Generation Committee , created in 2016, is made up of young volunteers who are experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning and heritage conservation. The committee aims to bring Montreal's heritage to life in a playful, original and committed way. Its activities, geared towards the next generation, aim to develop awareness, communication and exchange axes, in order to multiply collaboration and sharing opportunities.