THE EXPO FILES | expo 67 :: Man and His World ::: Québec vs. Ontario

I remember the buzz about the Québec and Ontario Pavilions at expo 67 was that staid Ontario’s was rather flamboyant whilst the opposite were true of Québec’s entry.

Polar opposites in style next to each other on Île Notre-Dame, the two provinces were trying to shed stereotypes by donning new clothes.

I like both pavilions, though Ontario’s still seems futuristic.

Nothing much is left on expo’s twin islands in the St. Lawrence, but le Pavilion du Québec now has the (ignominious, I think) distinction of being part of the Casino de Montréal complex whose main building is the former French pavilion. I guess the Québecois and French built their 1967 offerings to the world to last (which should bode well for Mirabel, also designed by the Québec pavilion’s architects).

The photos of the model and rendering are from a book I stumbled upon at a used book dealer in Montréal some years back.

It was published by the Banque National de Paris (BNP) and, because it came out before the big event, contains photos of maquettes and architectural renderings in lieu of the real deal. That makes it a great before-and-after comparison tool.

It’s interesting that Macy DuBois’ firm submitted a more expensive photo of their model for Ontario, whilst Papineau, Gérin-Lajoie, LeBlanc et Durand had only an architectural perspective, albeit a gorgeous drawing of the building.

Aside from photos of each country’s pavilion, Montréal Expo 67 also contains spreads of the “new” Montréal, ready to receive the world (take a look at the Métro, below). I love this book!

ABOVE > Le Pavilion de la France slash Casino de Montréal: a double spread in a French book

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As I mentioned, the book is great for comparisons. The pavilion most like Québec’s was the Czechoslovakian building and Ontario’s was similar to Frei Otto’s magnificent (and I’m sure, more expensive) German pavilion — a wondrous tent structure that would later rework itself into the Olympic Park in Munich:

And finally, here’s another look at the two structures as seen on vintage postcards:

thestar.com | Macy DuBois, 77: An architect of Toronto