Quebec Museum of Civilization

The Musée de la civilisation occupies a large city block along the St. Lawrence River in a historic district of Québec City. It accommodates both a permanent anthropological exhibition and galleries for changing displays. Two entrances, linked by a concourse bisecting the site, accommodate arrival from two opposing directions - the river and the upper city. The concourse forms the main foyer of the museum and incorporates a courtyard bounded by one of the two seventeenth-century houses on the site. A bridge connects the upper-level galleries on either side of the concourse. The roof of the concourse forms a grand public stairway leading to a rooftop park. A spire adjacent to the river entrance is accessible from the roof garden and serves as a lookout. The exterior walls are clad with local grey limestone. Dormers and skylights in the roof provide natural light to the gallery spaces.