Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
After visiting the installations on September 11, 2024, residents began imagining new, personal uses for these iconic buildings—rekindling their attachment to this unique local heritage. Geneviève envisioned transforming her smokehouse into a chicken coop for her ten hens. Louise proposed repurposing one as a drying shed for Mijanou’s garlic harvests. Lyne suggested using a structure for storage—adding a practical dimension to this collective reimagining.
Photo credit:
Julia Thibault
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
Though ephemeral by design, the project on Île Verte has left lasting and meaningful traces. Some of the installations remain standing, having been spontaneously adopted by the community, while others were dismantled—prompting reflection on their potential future. In a creative gesture to sustain public engagement, the municipality of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs recently raffled off two of the structures to residents, free of charge. For the mayor, this initiative offers an original way to extend the dialogue around built heritage.
Photo credit:
Alexis Boivin
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
The Atelier Pierre Thibault will return to the island this summer to continue this conversation, following the many concrete ideas proposed by residents—particularly those centered on food autonomy, a pressing issue in isolated environments. More broadly, the project has sparked renewed appreciation for a threatened vernacular heritage, while encouraging the intergenerational transmission of knowledge linked to the boucaneries.
Photo credit:
Alexis Boivin
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
For the Atelier Pierre Thibault team, this collective experience reinforced their cohesion, nurtured their initiative, and deepened their commitment to an architecture grounded in lived experience and local realities. Above all, the project affirmed architecture’s role as a tool for social and cultural mediation—capable of opening spaces for encounter, remembrance, and imagination for the future.
Photo credit:
Alexis Boivin
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
Architectural detail of the Île Verte Lighthouse. The Île Verte Lighthouse was the very first to be built along the St. Lawrence River. Constructed between 1806 and 1809, it housed several lighthouse keepers until 1972. It has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada since 1974, and since 2021, both the Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Station have been classified as heritage properties by Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications. Today, it remains a prime destination for visitors from Quebec and beyond.
Photo credit:
Alex Lesage
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
Architect Pierre Thibault at the Arsenale in Venice for the inauguration of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti.
Photo credit:
Alexis Boivin
Collective Intelligence at the Heart of Adaptation at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Atelier Pierre Thibault and Residents of Île Verte Reinvent the Boucaneries
Atelier Pierre Thibault
Architect Pierre Thibault, accompanied by Atelier Pierre Thibault team members Étienne Bourgeois and Alexis Boivin, at the Corderie dell’Arsenale during the opening of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti.
Photo credit:
Atelier Pierre Thibault
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Partition walls - Concept by Ivy Studio, design by Atelier Manovra
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Chaise longue by BrochetteChair by InātScreen by Le Tenon La Mortaise
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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View of the exhibition
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© Alex Lesage
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Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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DIVAN VM02 by Ivy Studio
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Reused modules from the previous edition transformed into new compositions by Ivy Studio. Floral arrangement by Prune Les Fleurs
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Reception counters - Ivy Studio's upgraded modules from the previous edition
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Céline Chair - In its raw, unfinished state. by Séjour Furniture x Small Medium Large Studio.
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Rounded Edges by LESORR
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Ephemeral restaurant
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Lounge PrototypesFrom left to right: Brass and Patina table by L'Autre Atelier, Prototype chair by L'Autre Atelier, Tom bench by Reggy St-Surin, Prototype shelving by Quinlan Osborne for Claste Collection, L'emploi du temps. Video projection by Thomas Balaban
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© Alexis Monet
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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“En dansant autour du cadre”, in-situ artwork by Delphine Huguet
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© Alexis Monet
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Installation by Double Entendre
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Installation by Double Entendre
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© Alex Lesage
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Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Galagog luminaire mould, by Gim Bert
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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From left to right :Spline by Jérémy Paguet; Layout by Studio Super Sunday; Atrium by Le Chatelier
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Sculptural chair in foam and flowers by Studio Sveja
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Partition walls - Concept by Ivy Studio, realized by Atelier Manovra
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Stage furnitureCéline chairs by Séjour Furniture x Small Medium Large Studio.Stool tables by Ivy Studio.
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Philip Staszewski, Architect and co-founder, Ivy Studio
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© Alex Lesage
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Poster of chairs
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© Ivy Studio
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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Philip Staszewski, scenic designer and co-founder - Ivy Studio and Sandra Heintz, Director, Index-Design
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© Alexis Monet
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
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La Fabrique Allwood, exhibitor
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© Alexis Monet
Complètement Design: Process and Celebration, Design in Motion in Montreal
Index-Design
Main stage, conference room
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© Alexis Monet
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