The Fourth Wall Laval Canada, Quebec landscape project, Canadian installation architecture photos

The Fourth Wall, Laval, Canada

October 11, 2025

Architecture: NÓS Architects

Location: Place Claude-Léveillée, Université de Montréal campus, Laval, southwestern Quebec, Canada

Photos: Raphaël Thibodeau

The Fourth Wall, Quebec, Canada

“Like the fictive wall in front of the stage serving as a separation between the actors and the audience, the installation aims to arouse the public’s curiosity through the implementation of a monumental mesh playing on the perception of space.”

An immersive and monumental installation takes over Place Claude-Léveillée, in Laval’s Montmorency district. The Fourth Wall, the third landmark of the Métamorphoses créatives initiative, offers a unique experience that blurs the lines between art, architecture, and public space. Designed to spark curiosity, this dynamic structure invites passersby to become active participants in a collective, year-round experience.

Launched in 2019 by the City of Laval, the Métamorphoses créatives initiative aims to transform the Montmorency district into a major cultural hub by integrating art, architecture, and design into urban development.

Taking inspiration from both theatre and the street performance, NÓS presents an installation that references the famous “fourth wall” that traditionally separates performers from the audience. Here, that wall becomes an open, curved, and dynamic structure designed to stimulate curiosity, encourage interaction, and transform the public square into a living stage.

Modularity
Designed as a modular structure with interchangeable components, the system consists of steel masts and curved rails from which translucent orange vinyl strips are suspended. Commonly used in commercial and industrial settings for their cold-shielding properties, these strips also serve as effective barriers against noise and dust, particularly relevant in areas near upcoming construction sites.

Urban activation
Conceived as a space for gathering, observation, and spontaneous expression, the installation serves as a true artistic and community meeting point, rooted in the heart of a transforming neighborhood. Its modular system offers a sustainable solution, adaptable to the site’s evolving needs, or reusable for future installations.

Urban furniture
Within this immersive structure, raw-wood urban furniture completes the layout: wooden beams painted bright orange at their base are transformed into warm, convivial seats. The orange color, part of Métamorphoses créatives’ visual identity, reinforces the association between culture, nature, and urban transformation.

Experience
This striking curtain filters the space, reflects the movements of passersby, hosts public performances, and transforms the site through shifting perspectives and evolving uses. This dynamic structure sparks curiosity, nurtures creativity, and invites the public to become active participants in a shared, year-round experience.

The Fourth Wall is a temporary yet symbolic artwork: it accompanies the renewal of downtown Laval, while offering a vibrant public space for the next 4 to 6 years where everyone can be either a spectator or a performer in a collective scene open to the imagination.

The Fourth Wall in Laval, Canada – Building Information

Architecture: NÓS Architects – https://n-o-s.ca/

Location: Place Claude-Léveillée, Université de Montréal campus in Laval
Client: Ville de Laval
Architects/designers: Charles Laurence Proulx, Gil Hardy, Eve St-Jean, Maxime Déom
Collaborators: Ariane Leblanc
Manufacturer: Atelier Gris
Photographer: Raphaël Thibodeau

About NÓS
Founded by Gil Hardy and Charles Laurence Proulx in 2016, NÓS is a Montreal firm that brings together professionals with diverse and complementary expertise around shared projects. Propelled by a resolutely contemporary spirit, each project is an opportunity to invent a unique living environment tailored to its users, thanks to an ambitious and realistic proposal.

The NÓS team is made up of daring and creative designers, joined by experienced professionals, bringing depth and demonstrated know-how.

NÓS, is the spirit of a new generation that creates, through the arts and architecture, places, and spaces that reflect their contemporary plural identity.