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6E
MANIFESTATION INTERNATIONALE VIDÉO ET ART ÉLECTRONIQUE MONTREAL, SEPTEMBER 20-27, 2004 |
THE DES CARRIÈRES INCINERATOR - MONTREAL
SLIDE-SHOW |
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Source : J. Berthier
THE HISTORY
AND FUTURE OF THE DES CARRIÈRES INCINERATOR
Yesterday
The des Carrières incinerator, situated near the Rosemont metro
station and at the limits of the adjacent Plateau Mont-Royal, in itself
constitutes an undeniable trace of Montreal's industrial past.
Inaugurated on September 15, 1970, this industrial complex was innovative
for its time and was hailed to become North America's most modern incineration
plant. Its primary function was to burn hundreds of tons of Montreal domestic
garbage at a time. This futuristic technological engine burned garbage
at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and was equipped with a sophisticated heat
recuperation system which made it possible to sell off the steam or to
use it to heat the building itself.
The architectural components of the building are impressive: besides its
two gigantic smokestacks, measuring over 75 meters, the building has 7000
meters of available space and an exterior access ramp through which trucks
can reach a garbage pit that can hold up to 2400 tons of garbage before
reaching full capacity. The total surface of the building is 22 000 meters
at a height of almost 30 meters.
Today
Today the des Carrières incinerator is undergoing a process of
transformation. The building stopped its industrial activities in 1993
and is now the center of a visionary project which will transform the
building into a youth oriented multidisciplinary and community center
which will bring together sports, the performing arts and multimedia.
In fact, the Montreal community organization, the TAZ, will host the 6th
MIVAEM in September 2004, and inaugurate the brand new multidisciplinary
youth activity center in the transformed des Carrières incinerator
in December 2004 (www.taz.ca).
Source : J. Berthier
CARTOGRAPHY AND SITE OF THE MANIFESTATION
In the process of putting together the 6th MIVAEM our in situ approach to the Rosemont-Petite Patrie borough led us to an urbanistic reflection on the current division of this territorial zone as well as its history and socio-economic realities. The topology of these sites will serve as trigger for discussions on contemporary architecture and will guide the artistic and descriptive interventions that will make up the project.
An Urban Landmark
It would not be exaggerated to call the des Carrières incinerator an urban landmark both because of its situation in the middle of the island of Montreal, and of the far-reaching visibility of its smokestacks. Furthermore, the cohabitation of the building with the residential fabric of Rosemont makes it a signpost and beacon of the neighborhood. The des Carrières incinerator's exceptional status in its relationship to its surrounding neighborhood is something that Champ Libre seeks to foreground.
SCENOGRAPHY AND DIFFUSION
During the DESERT biennial Champ Libre will propose an in situ scenographic intervention which will highlight the different architectural spaces of the des Carrières incinerator.
The scenography will be conceived in collaboration with a Montreal architect so as to maximize the functionality of the various places to be set up in the incinerator, all the while promoting an aesthetic approach that corresponds to the scale of the building.
The presentation of the works themselves and the design of novel presentation structures will focus on the increasingly narrowly defined relation between the work, the concrete context of its diffusion and the audience's perception within the interior spaces of the incinerator.
The biennial will also present the opportunity
to set up a modular and evolutive diffusion structure to explore different
diffusion possibilities for the 6th MIVAEM artistic program.
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