{"id":277208,"date":"2025-05-21T12:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T03:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/?p=277208"},"modified":"2025-05-21T12:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T03:13:11","slug":"atelier-pierre-thibault-and-residents-of-ile-verte-reinvent-the-boucaneries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/architect\/atelier-pierre-thibault-and-residents-of-ile-verte-reinvent-the-boucaneries\/","title":{"rendered":"Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of \u00cele Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reimagining Heritage for a Resilient Future: An Architectural Renewal on \u00cele Verte<\/h3>\r\n

O<\/span>n \u00cele Verte, a small island in the Saint Lawrence River with just fifty permanent residents, a visionary architectural project has breathed new life into the island\u2019s disappearing vernacular heritage. Spearheaded by Atelier Pierre Thibault<\/a>, the initiative reinterprets the island\u2019s boucaneries\u2014old fish smokehouses\u2014into conceptual installations that engage the community and explore sustainable future uses. Unveiled at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia<\/a> in 2025 for May 10 to November 23, the project is a profound response to climate challenges, cultural loss, and rural isolation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Documentary freeze-frame. Community dialogue. Meeting with the residents of \u00cele Verte
\r\nPhoto credit: Atelier Pierre Thibault<\/p><\/div>

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The Atelier Pierre Thibault team and intern students from Universit\u00e9 Laval.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Assembling of one of the four architectural installations
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Echoing the spirit of the original vernacular structures, these new installations embraced the simplicity and efficiency of contemporary timber construction.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

A Fragile Heritage at Risk<\/h4>\r\n

\u00cele Verte is home to twelve remaining boucaneries, structures built between the 1920s and 1980s for fish smoking, once vital to the island's economy and culture. Architect and heritage expert Pascal L\u00e9tourneau reported in 2023 that ten of these buildings retain high or exceptional heritage value. However, many are now in advanced states of decay, with at least one having collapsed. Despite their deterioration, the boucaneries retain unique architectural features\u2014tall, narrow forms, roof ridge openings, and systems for drying and humidity control.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Community dialogue through participatory discussion sessions
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Photo credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Community dialogue through participatory discussion sessions
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Though originally intended to be dismantled after the architects\u2019 departure, some of the structures were embraced by the community and left standing, adopted as tangible markers of the boucaneries\u2019 untapped potential\u2014keeping the island\u2019s collective memory and core values vibrantly alive.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alexis Boivin<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

Community-Driven Preservation and Participation<\/h4>\r\n

Rather than restore these structures in a traditional sense, the project seeks to reinterpret them as functional, future-oriented spaces. Through months of immersive fieldwork and participatory design sessions in 2024, Atelier Pierre Thibault collaborated closely with the Verdoyants\u2014as the residents are called\u2014to explore creative and sustainable adaptations. Ideas emerging from the community included transforming boucaneries into greenhouses, artist studios, cultural spaces, and gathering areas, thus strengthening the island\u2019s autonomy and resilience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Documentary freeze-frame. Assembling one of the four architectural installations next to an existing smokehouse.
\r\nPhoto credit: Atelier Pierre Thibault<\/p><\/div>

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Documentary freeze-frame. Community dialogue. Meeting with the residents of \u00cele Verte. Harnessing the power of abstraction in architectural expression, the reinterpretations served as conceptual canvases\u2014inviting the Verdoyants to reconnect with their cultural and architectural heritage through a hopeful, forward-looking lens.
\r\nPhoto credit: Atelier Pierre Thibault<\/p><\/div>

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The Atelier Pierre Thibault will return to the island this summer to continue this conversation, following the many concrete ideas proposed by residents\u2014particularly those centered on food autonomy, a pressing issue in isolated environments. More broadly, the project has sparked renewed appreciation for a threatened vernacular heritage, while encouraging the intergenerational transmission of knowledge linked to the boucaneries.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alexis Boivin<\/p><\/div>

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Architectural detail of the \u00cele Verte Lighthouse. The \u00cele Verte Lighthouse was the very first to be built along the St. Lawrence River. Constructed between 1806 and 1809, it housed several lighthouse keepers until 1972. It has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada since 1974, and since 2021, both the Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Station have been classified as heritage properties by Quebec\u2019s Ministry of Culture and Communications. Today, it remains a prime destination for visitors from Quebec and beyond.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

Climate Change and the Need for Self-Sufficiency<\/h4>\r\n

Isolation and climate change are pressing realities for \u00cele Verte. In winter, ferry access is cut off and helicopter travel becomes the only connection to the mainland. Traditional adaptation methods, like ice bridges, are no longer reliable due to global warming. As a result, themes of self-reliance, local food production, and creative cultural life are now central to how the community imagines its future. The project uses architecture as a means to catalyze this shift, turning memory into possibility.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Once integral to the practice of weir fishing, fish smoking was both an economic driver and a cultural hallmark of life on \u00cele Verte.
\r\nPhoto credit: Jean-Marie Cossette<\/p><\/div>

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Once integral to the practice of weir fishing, fish smoking was both an economic driver and a cultural hallmark of life on \u00cele Verte.
\r\nPhoto credit: Jean-Marie Cossette<\/p><\/div>

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Once integral to the practice of weir fishing, fish smoking was both an economic driver and a cultural hallmark of life on \u00cele Verte.
\r\nPhoto credit: Mireille Caron<\/p><\/div>

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Known as boucaneries, these vernacular buildings, inspired by traditional smokehouses, were constructed between the 1920s and 1980s to withstand the island\u2019s particularly harsh climatic conditions. Once integral to the practice of weir fishing, fish smoking was both an economic driver and a cultural hallmark of life on \u00cele Verte.
\r\nCharacterized by their windowless fa\u00e7ades and vertically elongated forms, the boucaneries gradually fell into disuse. Changes in hygiene regulations, along with the decline of the local fishing industry, rendered them obsolete. Since then, wind, snow, and rain have continued to erode these symbolic structures, which, for decades, had remained without a renewed purpose.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

Ephemeral Architecture with Lasting Impact<\/h4>\r\n

In September 2024, Atelier Pierre Thibault returned to the island with ephemeral, white timber structures\u2014lightweight and transportable\u2014installed at key locations from the shoreline to inland meadows. These installations abstractly echoed the boucaneries' forms and invited reflection, dialogue, and imagination. While designed to be temporary, some structures were adopted by the community and left standing, symbolizing the enduring relevance of the past and the promise of reinvention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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A 2023 report by architect Pascal L\u00e9tourneau, a specialist in heritage conservation, revealed that among the twelve remaining smokehouses on \u00cele Verte, four possess exceptional heritage value, while six are considered to have high heritage value. Key architectural features such as their pronounced verticality, roof ridge openings, drying pole systems, and humidity control mechanisms were identified as elements worth preserving. Unfortunately, half of these boucaneries are now in an advanced or critical state of deterioration\u2014one even collapsed a few years ago.
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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In response to the Verdoyants\u2019 strong desire to preserve and revitalize this unique built heritage, the Atelier launched a participatory design project aimed at exploring new uses for these structures. At the heart of the initiative lies a central question: How can these silent witnesses of the past help shape the future?
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Architectural installations to reveal new relationships between landscape, volume, uses, and people
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>

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Architectural installations to reveal new relationships between landscape, volume, uses, and people
\r\nPhoto credit: Alex Lesage<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

A Laboratory of Ideas<\/h4>\r\n

From these ephemeral interventions, several practical and symbolic proposals emerged:<\/p>\r\n