Faculty of Design
Environmental Design
Jean-Sebastien Vachon
The Soul of Sainte-Marie
Environmental Design
2021
Sainte-Marie is a small rural city in southeastern Quebec. Founded in 1744, it sits on the Chaudière River banks. This is where I grew up, this is my home and I wanted to put my ideas to better our community. Every spring, as snow melts and drains down into the valley, the river's water level rises drastically, often flooding the low-lying floodplains around it. The river which has a sizeable watershed mixed in with a very shallow depth and gentle disgorge is prone to flooding. Every year, as the downtown would get flooded, people would roll up their sleeves, fix their houses and clean up from the water damage. Through the years, many who called the area home have moved to higher ground. From the Police Department, to the hockey arena, multiple small business, many where fleeing our town center. Fast forward to 2019, water reached record levels, leaving a trail of damage unprecedented in the downtown area. Thus, government officials decided that no buildings in the flood zone would be repaired, ordering the demolition of over 350 homes. Since then, our town has watched as the downtown has vanished one house at a time. Families who have called this area home where forced to leave. All that will be left when they are done is a bunch of bulldozed properties in between ghost streets. This thesis project is about finding a new vocation for this site.
“My thesis project uses sustainable placemaking and resilient design to provide a space where the community can thrive. The proposal consists of a vast urban park, which includes a community garden and a public square, connected together by the remaining streets, historic buildings and of course, the river. ”
Work by
Jean-Sebastien Vachon
Architecture. Urban Design. Landscape Architecture.
“Architecture and Design should be for everyone. I believe that when a space can benefit an entire community, that is where our work can be at its most meaningful. Bringing together people and nature...” [More]