Caroline-Dawson Library and Parc Le Prévost

Finalist in the competition for the new Caroline-Dawson Library and the redesigned Parc Le Prévost, civiliti joined forces with in situ atelier d’architecture + DMA to imagine a local park that pairs seamlessly with the new library, adjacent to the Patro Villeray community center. The project is woven onto a canvas of landscaped bands where the boundary between landscape and architecture becomes blurred.

Designed as a resilient park, Parc Le Prévost is part of a new generation of public spaces capable of addressing contemporary climate challenges. Shaped by a series of mounds and basins, the park offers an urban oasis combining nature and functionality. The depressions are designed to manage stormwater from the site and surrounding area following the principles of a sponge park, while meeting users’ needs. The mounds, meanwhile, create a dynamic and ever-changing spatial and visual experience.

At the heart of the park, three large landscaped bands introduce new and distinctive environments. The cooling band offers a shaded space fit to relaxation and discovery. The nourishing band, dedicated to urban agriculture, features a colorful planting palette composed of fruit trees and native melliferous plants. Lastly, the active band provides an open space with two main areas devoted to gatherings, culture, and play.

Where the landscape bands meet the library, the vertical garden acts as a true threshold space at the edge between indoors and outdoors. Together with the nourishing band, the vertical garden brings the experiential qualities of gardening to the heart of both the park and the library. These distinctive spaces of the project present themselves as an evolving collective work that enriches the neighbourhood’s community life.