Description of Historic Place

Place du Portage, Phase IV is an imposing reinforced concrete Late Modern megastructure with High-Tech and Brutalist influences. It consists of stepped masses of differing heights and scales, roof terraces with built-in planters, and hardscaped outdoor spaces and a landscaped courtyard as well as a commercial strip facing Promenade du Portage. With over a million square feet of office space it contributes significantly to the Place du Portage Complex as an office centre for the federal civil service.

Heritage Value

Place du Portage, Phase IV is a “Recognized” federal heritage building because of its historical associations and architectural and environmental values.

Historical value
Place du Portage, Phase IV illustrates the federal government’s desire to reinforce the image of a unified Canada when Quebec nationalism was on the rise. This assertion of federalism was expressed through the expansion of the National Capital Region to include Hull (now Gatineau) and the construction of federal buildings in Quebec. The expansion of the civil service in the decades following the Second World War prompted a federal building program, though the economic downturn of the early 1970s eventually led to cutbacks and increased the emphasis on energy efficiency, as seen in the design of Phase IV. This building marks the end of construction of the complex and the area’s transformation from a neighbourhood with a strong industrial identity to one associated with a tertiary economy dominated by the public service. Its construction had required the expropriation of neighbourhoods and displaced local populations, which caused a major demographic shift and the demolition of much of the urban fabric of Vieux-Hull.

Architectural value
Phase IV is an imposing Late Modern megastructure that blends Brutalist and High-Tech influences. Its Late Modern aesthetic is embodied externally in its flat, plain surfaces, the wide expanses of glazing, the regular grid of recessed square and rectangular portal windows, and internally in the dramatic multi-storey atrium, the use of bold structural elements, and the built-in furniture and planters. The imposing monolithic form and materiality of the concrete exterior reflect the influence of Brutalism. A High-Tech interior aesthetic is expressed in exposed mechanical and structural elements with engineered, polished materials and brightly coloured finishes. It has over a million square feet of office space, street-facing exterior commercial spaces, and intuitive internal and external pedestrian circulation integrated into the rest of the complex. Phase IV was designed by the firm Papineau, Gérin-Lajoie, Le Blanc (PGL), best known for such projects as the Peel and Radisson stations in Montréal and the Quebec pavilion at Expo67, and the Mirabel International Terminal.

Environmental value
Located in downtown Gatineau, Phase IV sits on a lot with a strong urban character, in an area of government and commercial retail buildings. Its external paved landscape and planting design has created a number of public spaces that aid the flow of pedestrians through the complex and surrounding precinct. Its height and bulk reinforce the monumentality of the complex; although its stepped massing attempts to reduce the impact of its size, this has been seen as less than successful. It is known to its users, to civil servants, and to those approaching from the Portage Bridge. Though it is somewhat disconnected from the surrounding community, residents of downtown Gatineau know Phase IV’s strip of stores on Promenade du Portage.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Place du Portage, Phase IV that should be respected include:

Its articulation of Late Modern influences in its exterior and interior design, as seen in:
— the palette of panelized concrete cladding, glass, and aluminum materials;
— the regular grid of groups of custom-built portal windows with thin aluminum mullions and rounded corners: flush rectangular windows on the first floor and deep-set square windows on all other floors;
— the wide expanses of glazing at the two main entrances, the atrium, and courtyard which serve to bring natural light into the interior public spaces;
— the repetition of 45-degree angles throughout the structure;
— the stepped massing that attempts to moderate the monumentality of the building and create a more human-scale experience on the street fronts;
— the creation of an interior landscaped atrium with abundant natural light, built-in modular features such as benches and planters filled with greenery, a spiral staircase with wood handrails which acts as a sculptural element within the space, and office spaces overlooking the atria;
— the circulation corridor that leads from the main entrance to the other buildings in the complex that is designed like an interior street with durable flooring materials, with visual connection to adjacent commercial spaces.

The Brutalist influences in its design, as seen in:
— the imposing monolithic form of the building, the use of exposed concrete, the substantial solid concrete columns that are present on the exterior as well as in the interior, and the use of bold structural elements such as the concrete ventilation shaft at the southeast corner.

The High-Tech aesthetic treatments, as seen in:
— exposed industrial mechanical and structural features, such as the exterior multicoloured gooseneck vents in the courtyard and atop the roofs, and the interior exposed mechanical systems and steel trusses;
— the use of brightly coloured paints on exposed mechanical services and metal structural elements and the hung light elements above the central escalator;
— the use of colourful and reflective materials for the glass and brightly painted metal atrium ceiling, the spiral staircase with its high-polish finishes, and the original flooring in circulation areas of small tiles of various shades of orange and red in geometric patterns;

Its high-quality functional design as a megastructure, as seen in:
— the successful creation of a “city within a building” through fluid integration of over a million square feet of flexible office space, an efficient service core, commercial spaces, exterior landscape and hardscape, and intuitive way-finding with the atrium at its core that connects the building to the complex and the neighbourhood.

For guidance on interventions, please refer to the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. For further information, contact the FHBRO.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

Description of Historic Place
Place du Portage, Phase IV is an imposing reinforced concrete Late Modern megastructure with High-Tech and Brutalist influences. It consists of stepped masses of differing heights and scales, roof terraces with built-in planters, and hardscaped outdoor spaces and a landscaped courtyard as well as a commercial strip facing Promenade du Portage. With over a million square feet of office space it contributes significantly to the Place du Portage Complex as an office centre for the federal civil service.

Heritage Value

Place du Portage, Phase IV is a “Recognized” federal heritage building because of its historical associations and architectural and environmental values.

Historical value
Place du Portage, Phase IV illustrates the federal government’s desire to reinforce the image of a unified Canada when Quebec nationalism was on the rise. This assertion of federalism was expressed through the expansion of the National Capital Region to include Hull (now Gatineau) and the construction of federal buildings in Quebec. The expansion of the civil service in the decades following the Second World War prompted a federal building program, though the economic downturn of the early 1970s eventually led to cutbacks and increased the emphasis on energy efficiency, as seen in the design of Phase IV. This building marks the end of construction of the complex and the area’s transformation from a neighbourhood with a strong industrial identity to one associated with a tertiary economy dominated by the public service. Its construction had required the expropriation of neighbourhoods and displaced local populations, which caused a major demographic shift and the demolition of much of the urban fabric of Vieux-Hull.

Architectural value
Phase IV is an imposing Late Modern megastructure that blends Brutalist and High-Tech influences. Its Late Modern aesthetic is embodied externally in its flat, plain surfaces, the wide expanses of glazing, the regular grid of recessed square and rectangular portal windows, and internally in the dramatic multi-storey atrium, the use of bold structural elements, and the built-in furniture and planters. The imposing monolithic form and materiality of the concrete exterior reflect the influence of Brutalism. A High-Tech interior aesthetic is expressed in exposed mechanical and structural elements with engineered, polished materials and brightly coloured finishes. It has over a million square feet of office space, street-facing exterior commercial spaces, and intuitive internal and external pedestrian circulation integrated into the rest of the complex. Phase IV was designed by the firm Papineau, Gérin-Lajoie, Le Blanc (PGL), best known for such projects as the Peel and Radisson stations in Montréal and the Quebec pavilion at Expo67, and the Mirabel International Terminal.

Environmental value
Located in downtown Gatineau, Phase IV sits on a lot with a strong urban character, in an area of government and commercial retail buildings. Its external paved landscape and planting design has created a number of public spaces that aid the flow of pedestrians through the complex and surrounding precinct. Its height and bulk reinforce the monumentality of the complex; although its stepped massing attempts to reduce the impact of its size, this has been seen as less than successful. It is known to its users, to civil servants, and to those approaching from the Portage Bridge. Though it is somewhat disconnected from the surrounding community, residents of downtown Gatineau know Phase IV’s strip of stores on Promenade du Portage.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Place du Portage, Phase IV that should be respected include:

Its articulation of Late Modern influences in its exterior and interior design, as seen in:
— the palette of panelized concrete cladding, glass, and aluminum materials;
— the regular grid of groups of custom-built portal windows with thin aluminum mullions and rounded corners: flush rectangular windows on the first floor and deep-set square windows on all other floors;
— the wide expanses of glazing at the two main entrances, the atrium, and courtyard which serve to bring natural light into the interior public spaces;
— the repetition of 45-degree angles throughout the structure;
— the stepped massing that attempts to moderate the monumentality of the building and create a more human-scale experience on the street fronts;
— the creation of an interior landscaped atrium with abundant natural light, built-in modular features such as benches and planters filled with greenery, a spiral staircase with wood handrails which acts as a sculptural element within the space, and office spaces overlooking the atria;
— the circulation corridor that leads from the main entrance to the other buildings in the complex that is designed like an interior street with durable flooring materials, with visual connection to adjacent commercial spaces.

The Brutalist influences in its design, as seen in:
— the imposing monolithic form of the building, the use of exposed concrete, the substantial solid concrete columns that are present on the exterior as well as in the interior, and the use of bold structural elements such as the concrete ventilation shaft at the southeast corner.

The High-Tech aesthetic treatments, as seen in:
— exposed industrial mechanical and structural features, such as the exterior multicoloured gooseneck vents in the courtyard and atop the roofs, and the interior exposed mechanical systems and steel trusses;
— the use of brightly coloured paints on exposed mechanical services and metal structural elements
and the hung light elements above the central escalator;
— the use of colourful and reflective materials for the glass and brightly painted metal atrium ceiling, the spiral staircase with its high-polish finishes, and the original flooring in circulation areas of small tiles of various shades of orange and red in geometric patterns;

Its high-quality functional design as a megastructure, as seen in:
— the successful creation of a “city within a building” through fluid integration of over a million square feet of flexible office space, an efficient service core, commercial spaces, exterior landscape and hardscape, and intuitive way-finding with the atrium at its core that connects the building to the complex and the neighbourhood.