Québec Pavilion

The Québec Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal was a steel and glass frustum structure built above a body of water between Ontario and France’s pavilions on Ile Notre-Dame.

Modern lines characterized the architecture of the Quebec pavilion. Its exterior walls were made of glass; by day, these were enormous rectangular mirrors and, by night, an illuminated display case. Surrounded by water, the structure was accessible by way of a footbridge. Visitors then entered by large elevators; inside the pavilion. The pavilion's modern architecture and interior exhibit were in sharp contrast to the traditional image Canadians then had of this province. The exhibits focusing on urbanization, industrialization, business and education presented Quebec as a province with its eye on the future. Natural resources, forestry and water in particular were also presented as growth industries. In this reflection of Quebec society, the minimalist display methods themselves were an attraction: thousands of coloured steel cubes were used as part of the exhibits which was bathed in an electronic score by Quebec composer Gilles Tremblay in which synthetized whir, twitter and roar complemented the visual suggestions. High overhead, the distinctive soundtracks collided and coalesced into a contrapuntal aural landscape.

The building and the adjacent French pavilion are now part of the Montreal Casino.

The Quebec pavilion displayed a minimal approach to form. The flawless construction, by Montreal architects Papineau Gérin-Lajoie Le Blanc and Luc Durand, composed of concrete floors and Vierendeel structural steel supported by four steel towers, left the viewer without a doubt of the pavilion’s harmonious and sophisticated assembly.

The avant-garde design of the Quebec pavilion’s exhibition was the work of Swiss designer, Gustave Maeder. The various themes were integrated to the modern architecture of the pavilion through cubic modules. The cubes became the receptacles for exhibition items or became themselves the object of the exhibits through sculptural form. The themes explored: Man’s Challenge, Man’s Struggle, and Drive, defined the beginning of Quebec’s people’s trajectory towards the future. The 4,200 x 24 inch (60cm) sided steel cubes took on different shapes. The theme of Challenge was experienced by the visitors as they were taken up the cylindrical elevators up to the mezzanine floor. In this journey, the visitors witnessed a kaleidoscopic show expressing the passing of the seasons which represented the challenge which the original French settlers encountered. From the mezzanine, visitors got an overview of the theme of Struggle by walking the downward sloping ramp. In clockwise order, the visitor saw representations of Quebec’s Conquest of nature; its Water, Forest, Earth, and Underground which would subsequently be transformed by Industry. Once on the ground floor, the visitor found himself in visiting the contemporary lifestyle of Montreal, then Canada's metropolis. Finally, visitors would wander through the exhibits and at the center of the pavilion was the theme Drive; a look forward into the future potential of the province. The path walked by the visitors took on an important meaning, they were led on a promenade that allowed them to experience Quebec’s history. Films, photographs and transparencies were also used to visualize Quebec’s social, political, cultural and economical ripening.

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