THEORY: Having chosen an urban setting for my proposed project, I have, correspondingly, chosen an urban building type, namely the palazzo, as an informing metaphor. Thus, my interest lies not in its relevance as an authoritative precedent, but in its morphological existence as a fragment of a larger tissue. The palazzo extends the fabric of the city, works as a definer of urban space, and thus exists as an integral function of the urban condition. It is essentially introverted in building form. Its inner courtyard, which is one of its most common features, often constitutes the primary ordering device. Centrality, rather than outward reach, governs its plan, and its archetype implies institutionalism. As a component of a more complex urban organism, inherent in the design of the palazzo is the issue of contextual unity.* While my design will not follow a literal translation of the palazzo, it still calls for incorporating some of its characteristics and urban contextual affiliation. *Thoughts on the concept of the Palazzo by Prof. Sheppard, McGill University. In light of the above background, it becomes more and more evident that my thematic choice for a site is inseparably linked to that for a programme. As mentioned above, my site does not exist in isolation; it is not, by any means, freestanding. Instead, it lies along a rhythmic façade of buildings, and currently represents a break in that rhythm and in city fabric on a larger scale. This reintegration can be seen as being analogous to an individual's integration back into society or reality. While this may seem highly symbolic, I believe it is through the parallel between these two metaphors of society as tissue and city as fabric that one link, between site and programme, is established in my project. Thus, in the design stage, the perception of the site as a void will again be analogous to an individual idly loitering, and this will configure itself in the creation of an environment which, furthermore, grounds and heals versus one which provides a mere therapy. The relevance of this point, I believe, also lies in the fact that there once existed a building on my site. Maps dating back to 1890 and 1929 show a masonry built building which seems to have been demolished in recent years (section on context and history). When the building was torn down, I think, is beside the point. For me, the void symbolically represents that idle person, because a scar has been left behind. Thus, re-grounding the site within its physical context should be given equal consideration as re-grounding the patients within their societal context. Another important parallel between site and programme lies in the palazzo's inherent introversion. Like other urban building types, such as courtyard houses, a palazzo's interior greatly contrasts its busy surrounding milieu. It yields a haven before the visitor, which slows the foot down and creates a breather from the monotony of the outside world. Such a feature is intrinsic to the environment of my proposed, centre as it proposes to create an enclosed protective place which, to some extent, is divorced from its potentially harmful surroundings, while maintaining its urban setting. Image: The aerial photo on the left speaks for itself. It is a photographic illustration of the actual urban condition of Montreal along Boulevard Saint Laurent, which at the macro level reveals the interconnected fabric of the City.

 

My proposed conceptual "palazzo" will treat the rupture and weave the fabric. This reintegration can be seen as being analogous to an individual's integration back into society or reality. While this may seem highly symbolic, I believe it is through the parallel between these two metaphors of society as tissue and city as fabric that one link, between site and programme, is established in my project. Thus, in the design stage, the perception of the site as a void will again be analogous to an individual idly loitering, and this will configure itself in the creation of an environment which, furthermore, grounds and heals versus one which provides a mere therapy. The relevance of this point, I believe, also lies in the fact that there once existed a building on my site. Maps dating back to 1890 and 1929 show a masonry built building which seems to have been demolished in recent years (map of 1890 and diagrams of St. Laurent's built environment). When the building was torn down, I think, is beside the point. For me, the void symbolically represents that idle person, because a scar has been left behind. Thus, re-grounding the site within its physical context should be given equal consideration as re-grounding the patients within their societal context.

Image: A detail of the existing brick mitoyen wall bordering my site to the south. Its particularly rough condition renders it three-dimensional. It bears witness to the rupture which took place with the demolition of the building which once sat on my site, adjacent to it.

Another important parallel between site and programme lies in the palazzo's inherent introvertedness. Like other urban building types, such as courtyard houses, a palazzo's interior greatly contrasts its busy surrounding milieu. It yields a haven before the visitor, which slows the foot down and creates a breather from the monotony of the outside world. Such a feature is intrinsic to the environment of my proposed, centre as it proposes to create an enclosed protective place which, to some extent, is divorced from its potentially harmful surroundings, while maintaining its urban setting. This will, later, be elaborated on in the section of the programme.