Ruisseau de Feu Conservation Park

An important migration corridor for numerous bird species and a spawning ground for fish and amphibians in the Rivière des Prairies, the site required visitor facilities compatible with its protected status. The project includes marked trails, elevated boardwalks, interpretive displays, a shelter, and a 16-metre observation tower offering panoramic views of the marshes, wetlands, and riverbanks. Developed in close collaboration with landscape architects, biologists, and engineers, every intervention was carefully designed to guide visitors while minimizing ground disturbance and protecting the site's fragile ecosystems.

Visitors experience the landscape along an elevated timber boardwalk that weaves discreetly through the site. The circular forms of the shelter and observation tower evoke tree stumps emerging naturally from the surrounding vegetation, while weathering steel screens filter views, conceal the presence of visitors, and encourage quiet observation of wildlife. Rising delicately above the landscape, the observation tower serves as both a landmark and a destination. Built primarily from prefabricated components and supported by a minimal number of foundations, the project expresses a restrained contemporary architecture that serves the landscape rather than dominating it. It stands as a compelling example of how architecture, landscape, and ecology can work together to enrich one another.