It is often a surprise to Montrealers when they discover that the CCA (Canadian Center for Architecture) is located in their own city. If you’re not an architecture buff and have no idea what I’m talking about, the CCA is “those three big stone buildings” on Boul-Rene-Levesque right across the entrance to the highway 720… and that weird floating chair.
The dying art of Architecture is an innovative, forward-thinking one that is best understood when analyzing it’s historical evolution. Exactly 20 years ago this year, the CCA was founded to promote the knowledge of architecture’s role in society in order to encourage design creativity and scholarly research.
The establishment makes this learning possible with one of the largest international research collections of models, plans, conceptual studies, and many, many other documents dating from the Renaissance.
The CCA has put into place Study centers, guided tours, exhibitions and an extensive library in order to create debate and a dynamic engagement with contemporary issues for people of all ages and levels of knowledge on this subject.
Along with the building (designed by Peter Rose with consulting architect Phyllis Lambert and associate architect Erol Argun in 1989), a large garden exhibiting landscape art is located across the blvd Rene-Levesque whose unique location allows its integration to the hustle and bustle of the city, while clearly defining a separation with a large open space. This helps create an ambiance of serenity and escape, while ironically having a location adjacent to a large highway.
Designed by Montréal artist-architect Melvin Charney, the CCA Garden is said to “restore the urban fabric of an area deeply scarred by mid-20th-century highway engineering.” – CCA
The CCA Garden – open to the public 24/7
With all this information free and open to the public, I can only say one thing to those who have yet to visit and explore the CCA — Go culture yourself!!
Photos: Youssef
www.mysteryoussef.com
