Vivarium

James Brittain

WINNER OF A 2022 CANADIAN ARCHITECT PHOTO AWARD OF MERIT

“Very soothing, conducive to contemplation. The path leads us to a figure who also seems to be in a contemplative state. The eye is constantly redirected inward. It twirls around, like the butterflies, here and there. This structure is imposing, but seems so light at the same time.” – Félix Michaud, juror 

A visit to Montreal’s new Insectarium is an enchanting journey of discovery, where the line between built and natural space is intriguingly dissolved. 

A labyrinth of immersive underground chambers experienced from an insect’s point of view leads to a grand tomb-like dome adorned with butterflies and bugs. The metamorphosis for the visitor ends in the grand Vivarium, pictured here. 

The photograph is from a series I was commissioned to make by the project architects, Berlin’s Kuehn Malvezzi and Montreal’s Pelletier de Fontenay with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte. 

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