Heritage advocates are struggling to understand why the famous home and workshop of a Quebec sculptor in Montreal’s West Island was destroyed by a fire that broke out on Sunday night.
The house, built in 1951 and expanded in 1986, has historical value as it was once the living and creative quarters of Quebec sculptor Charles Daudelin until his death on April 2, 2001.
Maison Charles-Daudelin, located at the intersection of Ste-Marie Road and de l’Artiste Street in a wooded area of a Kirkland residential neighbourhood, was engulfed in flames when firefighters responded at 11:38 p.m.
The building was vacant and the blaze was brought under control at 4:41 a.m. on Monday. The cause and circumstances of the event remain unknown, but Montreal’s fire department noted that there’s no evidence of arson.
Ariyaz Molanorouzi, left, and his brother, Ariyaman Molanorouzi, right, rushed outside on the night of the fire to find out what was happening and filmed the scene. (Gabriel Guindi/CBC)
Ariyaz Molanorouzi, a resident of the neighbourhood, had just put his phone down and was about to go to sleep when he noticed an unusual colour in the sky.
“Suddenly, in the sky, I see part of the sky is red,” he said. “I just screamed at my brother: ‘Get up, get up, there’s a fire next to us!'”
The two brothers were convinced that the fire was nearby, but fortunately, it wasn’t. They decided to venture into the neighbourhood to find out what was happening and filmed the scene.
“The closer we got, the worse it got. There was so much smoke. It was hard to breathe at some point too and there were a lot of embers in the air,” said Molanorouzi.
WATCH | Glimpses of the fire recorded by the Molanorouzi brothers:
In 2023, the house was designated a protected heritage site by Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications — along with the art studio, a former goat farm and a vast landscaped area attached to the home.
“Many people are celebrating for many reasons at this time of the year. This is a dark cloud on our celebration,” said Dinu Bumbaru, policy director and spokesperson for the non-profit group Heritage Montreal.
A house graced by the touch of pre-eminent architects
The property carries great architectural weight, marked by the renowned architects — Jean-Louis Lalonde, Gordon Edwards and Charles Elliott Trudeau — who designed and contributed to its expansion.
In 1951, Daudelin and his wife, Louise Bissonnette, built a modest house based on Trudeau’s plans in the then rural parish of Saint-Joachim-de-Pointe-Claire.
Over the years, Lalonde and Edwards were involved in numerous improvements to the site.
The 1986 extension work by Edwards, a natural and artificial lighting specialist, is largely responsible for the house’s appearance before the fire. At the time, Daudelin had decided to create a workshop as his children had left the home.
The house featured skylights and large, abundant windows, open areas and rooms without doors.
Quebec sculptor Charles Daudelin lived and created art in the home until his death in 2001. It was designed by pre-eminent Quebec figures in the field of architecture. (Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications)
And the garden, according to Bumbaru, was a “work of art in itself.”
“The artist preserved and enhanced a green space somehow by planting trees, by making sure this is a wooded area,” said Bumbaru. “We have to be grateful locally and environmentally for that.”
Daudelin’s best known masterpieces include Polypede located in front of McGill University’s Faculty of Law, Agora et Mastodo at Viger Square, Allegrocube in front of the Montreal courthouse and Embâcle in front of Place du Québec in Paris.
WATCH | Archives of the artist’s interviews and art:
‘Fire prevention is part of basic heritage protection’
In 2020, the property was sold by the artist’s daughter, Nanouk Daudelin, for over $2 million.
In 2022, the City of Kirkland almost sounded the death knell for the Maison-Charles-Daudelin, publishing a public notice to allow its demolition. The action triggered the ire of Heritage Montreal.
But in 2023, the historical property was saved and classified as a heritage site.
In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Culture and Communications ensured that it is closely following the post-blaze situation.
“Since the site’s classification, the Ministry of Culture and Communications has been working with and supporting the owners to ensure that the work required to preserve the building is carried out,” read the statement.
Dinu Bumbaru, a spokesperson and policy director for Heritage Montreal, described the news of the fire as a ‘call to action’ for elected officials to ramp up the protection of heritage sites. (Charles Contant/CBC)
Bumbaru sees the news of the fire as a call to action, hoping elected officials will put in place measures to enhance protection status of heritage sites and prevent further damage.
“We expect the word ‘protection’ to be meaningful and fire protection is part of it,” he said. “Fire prevention is part of basic heritage protection, not just knowing the date of construction and the name of the artist.”
This event is all too familiar to Bumbaru who recalls the deadly fire in a heritage building in Old Montreal on March 16, 2023, and the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire in Paris.
Preserving heritage sites, he explains, is a “gesture towards the next generation.”