The Wesley Methodist Temple (1848) designed by Edward Staveley, the first neo-Gothic church in Quebec, lost its cult function back in 1931, and in 1944 it housed the Hall of the Quebec Canadian Institute, a non-governmental and non-profit educational institution. The building started to function as a library and a space for lectures and concerts: many prominent cultural figures performed there. But the new era required new forms: in 1999 the Hall was closed, and in its place it was decided to create a House of Literature with a wider program. Educational functions were added to the existing functions, with an emphasis on support and development for those wishing to devote themselves to literature of creative abilities.
The architectural competition for the renovation project was won by Chevalier Morales Architectes, and their version expanded and reworked the assignment. Thus, they proposed to preserve the church as a library and hall, and move the "creative" functions to a new wing, thereby giving the writers greater freedom (founded in Quebec in 1848, the Canadian Institute was originally a stronghold of pluralism, since in its library one could find including books prohibited by the Catholic Church).
The facades of the rectangular block of the new building consist of an outer glass shell and an inner layer of perforated brass sheets: the resulting mirror surface reflects the surrounding buildings and trees and thus fits the structure into context. On the lower tier there are technical rooms, upstairs - various creative studios, classrooms, an apartment for a resident writer.
The architects restored the church itself, but did not completely free it from later layers in order to preserve its history. The lancet windows and ribs of the vaults were emphasized, but the interior received an almost completely monochromatic white solution. Several entrance options express the non-hierarchical nature of the space, where even the permanent exhibition - about freedom in the literature of the province of Quebec - did not receive its own sector, but is distributed across all zones and levels.
A circular opening in the floors between the levels connects the café, two temporary exhibition spaces and the library area. The auditorium can be isolated with mobile acoustic screens: it is suitable for conferences, lectures, plays and chamber concerts.
