Situated on Island No. 22 within Quebec’s Poisson Blanc Regional Park, Faire le vide occupies a terrain marked by geographic isolation and environmental intensity. Accessible only by canoe or kayak, the site defies conventional notions of accessibility and infrastructure. It is within this context that the installation asserts its presence, not through monumentality or spectacle, but through quiet provocation and spatial introspection.
Faire le vide Technical Information
- Architects1-9: Luca Fortin + Atelier mock/up
- Location: Island No. 22, Poisson Blanc Regional Park, Notre-Dame-du-Laus, Quebec, Canada
- Completion Year: 2024
- Photographs: © Maryse Béland, Karma Photographie, Behind Création, Maika Nadon, Irvin Burel, Luca Fortin
Each work is a gateway to a shared imagination, and a gesture of resonance between the visible and the invisible, the tangible and the intangible.
– Luca Fortin
Faire le vide Photographs
Spatial Composition and Form
Commissioned as part of a long-term initiative to introduce public art into the park’s archipelago, the project reimagines the reservoir not merely as a site of recreation but as a platform for cultural engagement. Faire le vide inaugurates this series with a restrained formal language and an architectural logic that foregrounds the encounter between the visitor and the landscape.
The project was conceived through a collaboration between artist-architect Luca Fortin and Quebec-based digital fabrication studio Atelier mock/up. Selected via a design competition, the intervention reflects a commitment to material experimentation, narrative form-making, and site-responsive design.
From a distance, the work registers as a compact wooden cube measuring approximately 2.4 meters in all dimensions. Its exterior, clad in vertical cedar slats, echoes the upright stance of the surrounding coniferous forest. This reductive form does not impose itself on the site but instead marks it with subtlety and restraint. It operates simultaneously as a landmark and an enigma, offering little in the way of immediate visual disclosure.
Upon entry, the project reveals a profound spatial shift. The orthogonal exterior gives way to a carved interior chamber defined by undulating, organic geometries. This contrast between outer simplicity and inner complexity is central to the project’s spatial thesis. The interior is not programmed in any conventional sense. There is no prescribed activity. Instead, the space invites stillness, contemplation, and perceptual engagement. The chamber functions less as a room and more as a spatial condition—one that amplifies the visitor’s bodily and sensory awareness.
Light filters through narrow gaps between slats, animating the interior surfaces throughout the day. The visual and acoustic isolation from the surrounding environment enhances the sense of inwardness. In this way, Faire le vide operates as a constructed pause within the landscape, a threshold where spatial experience displaces programmatic intention.
Material Logic and Construction Process
Materiality and method are inseparable in this project. Laminated cedar was selected not only for its durability and weather resistance but also for its aromatic and tactile qualities. The project’s most compelling material gesture lies in its treatment of the interior surface. CNC-milled from laminated wood slabs, the curvilinear chamber retains the tool marks from the milling process. These grooves, intentionally left exposed, evoke the rippling surface of the adjacent lake and the movement of wind across the water.
Rather than conceal the digital fabrication process, the project foregrounds it as a source of texture and meaning. The interior thus becomes a palimpsest of both machine logic and manual assembly. Each component was prefabricated off-site, transported by boat, and hand-carried to the installation location. The absence of heavy machinery was not a constraint but a deliberate strategy to minimize ecological impact.
This tectonic duality, the tension between machined precision and artisanal assembly, adds a layer of complexity to the project. It demonstrates how advanced fabrication technologies can be deployed in remote, low-impact contexts to produce highly refined spatial environments.
Faire le vide Plans
Faire le vide Image Gallery
About Luca Fortin
Luca Fortin is a Quebec City–based artist and architect whose work explores the relationship between matter, memory, and place. With a background in both architecture and visual arts, Fortin approaches design as a poetic dialogue between form and context. His public art installations offer contemplative spaces that engage the senses and invite introspection. He is a recipient of the Henry Adams Medal of Honor from the American Institute of Architects, and his work has been exhibited internationally and held in significant collections across Quebec.
About Atelier mock/up
Atelier mock/up is a parametric design and digital fabrication studio located in Quebec City’s industrial district. Integrating design, research, and manufacturing under one roof, the studio specializes in turning complex architectural concepts into material reality. With a multidisciplinary team, mock/up bridges computational design and hands-on craftsmanship, offering services in digital fabrication, design for manufacturing and assembly, and design-build processes. Their work emphasizes experimentation, technical precision, and collaboration across creative and academic fields.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Poisson Blanc Regional Park
- Design Team: Luca Fortin + Atelier mock/up
- Manufacturing Team: Luca Fortin, Hugo Thibaudeau, Véronique Côté, Thierry Thibaudeau, Daphée Cantin, Raphaël Pellerin, Tom Hallett
- Materials: Laminated cedar (supplied by Cèdre JD Sirois)
- Construction Method: Prefabricated off-site, transported by boat, hand-assembled without heavy machinery
- Dimensions: 2438 mm x 2438 mm x 2438 mm (approx. 8 ft cube)
- Structural System: CNC-milled laminated cedar panels
- Program: Non-programmatic public art installation for sensory and spatial exploration
- Project Type: Public art/landscape installation
