Julien Rozon
McGill University School of Architecture
Advisor : Prof. Howard Davies, Prof. Julia Gersovitz, O.C.
All archival images of the Magog Textile Mill on this website are the property of the Société d'Histoire de Magog.
McGill University School of Architecture
Advisor : Prof. Howard Davies, Prof. Julia Gersovitz, O.C.
All archival images of the Magog Textile Mill on this website are the property of the Société d'Histoire de Magog.
of inertia
serves as a visual atlas comprising architectural drawings and photographs of the Store House (building 05a) situated within the Magog Textile Mill. This compilation represents the initial phase of my year-long graduate master's project undertaken at McGill University School of Architecture. My research endeavors to achieve a meticulous representational specificity, seeking to capture the antiquated intricacies and weathered vestiges accrued over its 125 years of operation. Due to the absence of architectural drawings in archival records, my portrayal of the structure is imbued with subjectivity, informed by my interpretation of on-site photographs, archaeological findings, and historical imagery provided by the town's historical society.inertia
nounin·er·tia i-ˈnər-shə -shē-ə
1a: a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force ;
1b: an analogous property of other physical quantities.
2: indisposition to motion, exertion, or change : INERTNESS
inertial i-ˈnər-shəl -shē-əl adjective
inertially i-ˈnər-sh(ə-)lē adverb
Isaac Newton, 1689
verblist by Richard Serra, 1967La Textile : An Architectural Continuum
is my proposition to reconvert the former Dominion Textile in Magog as a contemporary art center. This project sits within a long trajectory of my interest in the investigation about the means of architectural heritage, conservation and rehabilitation. I studied theories from John Ruskin, Viollet Le Duc, Riegl, Boito, Choay and more. What is really characteristic of this project is the dialectic found between the historical specificity, but also the graphic investigation of how to appreciate and theorize the old.About Heritage, I’m interested in understanding the aesthetic, historic and cultural significance of past, present and future generations. I consider it essential to deeply understand the heritage value of a historic place ; its character-defining materials, forms, spatial configurations and cultural meanings.
About Conservation, I acknowledge that conservation work must above all preserve the authenticity of the building : both the original work and the marks of time and history.
About Rehabilitation, challenging the Ruskinian doctrine, I assert that not all restoration work is outlawed or considered harmful, but only the ones that would erase or alter these marks, helping to conceal the history of the monument.
My architecture education has led me to a number of reflections about this site. Firstly, I'm interested in the raw structure of the building and the power of intervention as an architect. I want to propose a clear scenario of how to make its architectural qualities more present. The complex also has a new layer since it ceased to operate: its value as a ruin. This value is intangible but it can be felt by every citizen who lives in Magog. Magog would not be there without the mill and vice versa.
These reflections led me to these questions :
01. What vocation would allow the building to maintain its integrity, preserve and enhance its architectural qualities?
02. What technical intervention would amplify its spatial, aesthetic, and structural attributes in a powerful manner?
I have come to believe that the site holds undeniable historical significance for the town, deserving recognition for the cultural memory it preserves, the patina of time embedded in its walls, and the graceful aging it represents. I advocate for the value of both the ruins and the prospect of rebuilding, resolving the question not as 'either ruins or rebuilding' but rather as 'both ruins and rebuilding’.
I want to make it clear that my proposal is based on high respect for the authenticity of what remains and a clear presentation of the historic fabric with all its wear, weathering and patina. It is the antithesis of reconstruction. The historical changes in the fabric, and its visible weathering, are parts of the building’s history, and both would be lost if it were to be reconstructed. The resulting post-industrial landscape is at once organized and eclectic, historical and definitely contemporary.
continuum
nounkənˈtɪn.ju.əm
- a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct."
Gerard Richter, Feldweg, Landscape Photo Paintings, 1987, oil on canvas, 82 cm x 112 cm, Catalogue Raisonnée, 629-4.