The Augustines Monastery
- LocationQuébec (Québec)
- ClientLa Fiducie du patrimoine culturel des Augustines
- year2015
- Awards and distinctions
IDU Québec Real Estate Excellence Award – Public Services Category
Québec Religious Heritage Council Award of Excellence – Adaptive Reuse
Thomas-Baillairgé Award, Ordre des architectes du Québec
Roofing Canada Award, Canadian Roofing Contractors Association
City of Québec Architecture Award – People's Choice Award
City of Québec Architecture Award – Universal Accessibility
City of Québec Architecture Award – Heritage in a Heritage Site
- PHOTOStéphane Groleau
A living heritage dedicated to well-being.
Home to the first hospital in North America north of Mexico, The Augustines Monastery now offers a unique destination where heritage, culture, and holistic health converge. The project carefully rehabilitates this remarkable historic complex, revealing the richness of its past while giving it a meaningful contemporary purpose.
Today, the complex includes a museum dedicated to the legacy of the Augustines, archival and exhibition spaces, a restaurant, wellness facilities, and a hospitality program focused on holistic health. An additional floor, discreetly integrated above the sisters' residence, provides a centralized museum repository for the collections of the Augustines monasteries across Québec. At the heart of the project, a fully glazed entrance hall serves as an interstitial building connecting the various historic wings. This contemporary intervention clarifies circulation, highlights the original façades, and symbolizes the opening of what was once a cloistered community.
The project included the restoration of roofs, façades, windows, and historic interiors, together with the careful integration of new mechanical systems and code upgrades within an exceptionally complex heritage setting. Contemporary architectural interventions engage in a respectful dialogue with buildings dating from 1645 and 1695, using a restrained and transparent architectural language that honours the site's historical significance while clearly expressing its own era. The revitalization of the gardens, interior courtyards, and archaeological remains also reconnects visitors with a place that had long been closed to the public. Recipient of numerous awards for architecture, heritage conservation, and universal accessibility, The Augustines Monastery is now recognized as one of Québec's leading examples of heritage rehabilitation.
