La Caserne – The Theatre for Young Audiences, Quebec City

La Caserne scène jeune public Quebec City, Canada cultural centre building, Canadian architecture photos

La Caserne – The Theatre for Young Audiences in Quebec City

11 May 2026

Architect: SBTA inc. + Delort et Brochu architectes

Location: Québec City, Canada

photo © James Brittain

Photos: James Brittain + Vladimir Topouzanov

La Caserne – scène jeune public, Canada

This 1912 fire station (G. E. Tanguay) was expanded in 1996 (Julien et Plante) to accommodate Ex Machina, Robert Lepage’s artistic laboratory. The granite-clad black box faces the Musée de la Civilisation (1988, M. Safdie), whose grey stone facades reflect the material character typical of Old Quebec.

photo © James Brittain

Approach

In 2021, Ex Machina vacated the premises, which were taken over by the youth theatre company Les Gros Becs. The new institution required an expansion to house a 350-seat theatre as well as a multifunctional hall. The addition takes place on this site, part of the Old Quebec heritage district listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

photo © Vladimir Topouzanov

The design developed as a dialogue among multiple voices: between the historic city and the contemporary extension; between the fire station, the former Ex Machina venue, and the site’s new vocation; between exterior and interior — and above all, with its young audience.

photo © Vladimir Topouzanov

At the corner of Dalhousie and Barricade streets, a small piazzetta and its artwork become a lively crossroads, opening toward Parc des Canotiers, the museum, and the St. Lawrence River. The sober, cartesian volumes compose a backdrop that highlights the historic fire station — and especially its tower, a strong landmark within the landscape.

photo © James Brittain

A breach running from Dalhousie to Bell Street cuts through the preserved buildings. It becomes the foyer connecting the two entrances: the main public entrance on Dalhousie and the school group entrance served by buses on Bell. To signal the entry and the building’s new vocation, one of the wooden doors is paired with a blue glass door. Once across the threshold, the floor echoes this hue, as if the river still asserted its presence on the site.

photo © James Brittain

Program

At the heart of the foyer, an open staircase initiates the sequence toward the theatre, the reading room, and the multifunctional hall. As one ascends, the tower gradually reveals itself through the glazing of the lantern that crowns the stair.

photo © James Brittain

Located on the second floor of the original fire station, the reading room benefits from its tall windows. On the third floor, dormers piercing the west-facing mansard roof provide borrowed light to the foyer of the multifunctional hall. A small triangular terrace serves the administrative offices and opens views toward the river.

photo © James Brittain

Ambiance

The atmospheres shaped by the forms and colours of the interior spaces create a playful journey for young audiences while extending the material language of the historic fire station. The grey stone of the ground floor is echoed by mirrored stainless-steel wall cladding, reflecting both the wood of the theatre hall and the movement within the staircase. The orange brick of the second floor finds resonance in a metallic copper finish. The wood of the mansard is answered by a metallic gold tone and by the wood cladding of the multifunctional hall foyer.

At the heart of the project, the theatre hall reinterprets the exterior motif in four shades of wood.

Circularity

The building is rooted in an ecological approach based on “circularity”. The new theatre integrates, renovates, and restores the 1912 fire station, as well as the Ex Machina-building (1996), while introducing a new addition. The project enhances and reuses the existing concrete and steel structure, while also recycling the black granite cladding from Robert Lepage’s theatre building.

The new fully glazed envelope also stands out for its enhanced durability. Its assembly provides high energy performance through attachment systems incorporating thermal breaks.

photo © James Brittain

La Caserne – scène jeune public in Quebec City, Canada – Building Information

Architects: SBTA inc. – https://quinzhee.ca/

Name: La Caserne – scène jeune public
Location: 103 Dalhousie Street, Quebec, QC, G1K 4B9
110 Bell Street, Quebec, QC, G1K 0L4
Opening date: November 4, 2025

Client: La Caserne – scène jeune public (Jean-Philippe Joubert, Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director)

Architects: SBTA Inc. + Delort and Brochu Architectes
Project team (design and construction):

Dino Barbarese, Vladimir Topouzanov, Sophie Trépanier-Laplante, Christopher Dubé, Marc Pape, Anna Zakharova, Louis-Guillaume Paquet, Flavia Socol, Julien Denault, Geneviève Deguire, Cédric Delort, Jean Brochu, Caroline Vinatier, Ghislain Dubé, Hugo Sénéchal, Caroline Lévesque, Léa Pasquet, Jonathan Estrade, Pierre Lépine

Other professionals and consultants:

Structural/Civil: NCK Inc.
Mechanical/Electrical: Dupras Ledoux Inc.
Scenography: Trizart Alliance
Acoustics: Bouthillette Parizeau
Vertical transportation: JMCI Inc.
Project management: WSP
Artist (1% program): Jean-Robert Drouillard
General contractor: Les Constructions Béland & Lapointe
Costuction budget: $24,672,000
Selected suppliers:

Seating: Atmosphare
Curtain wall: Stekar
Glass cladding: Stekar
Epoxy coating: Sherwin-Williams
Construction budget: $24,672,000

Photo credits: James Brittain (+ Vladimir Topouzanov – Photo_02 only)

About Saia Barbarese Topouzanov Architects (SBTA inc.)

Founded by Mario Saia in 1968, with Dino Barbarese and Vladimir Topouzanov joining as partners in 1987 and 2002 respectively, Saia Barbarese Topouzanov Architects is a firm dedicated to the practice of architecture and urban design.

Clear concepts that structure even the most complex projects, the sense of conviviality they foster, the presence of light, and a contemporary architectural vocabulary all characterize the firm’s work. The office has diverse expertise in urban projects, collective housing, and institutional projects (universities, sport centers, theaters, etc.).

Since 2013, Dino Barbarese has worked primarily as a Project Architect, and Vladimir Topouzanov as a Design Lead.

Saia Barbarese Topouzanov Architects has successfully completed numerous projects that have been recognized for their integration with the environment, quality of design, respect for the human scale, and operating efficiency. The most important Canadian, Quebec, and local organizations devoted to architecture and patrimony conservation have rewarded the firm with numerous prizes, including the Gold Medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, two Governor General’s Medals, and fifteen awards from the Ordre des architectes du Québec. Recognition of the firm also includes a Hue Award (San Francisco) and Wood Design Magazine; two Best of Canada Design Awards, Mitra Milan, and seven awards from Save Montreal and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

The firm’s projects have also been featured in publications in Canada and abroad, including in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Korea, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.