The School of Architecture at the Université de Montréal has announced the appointment of its new chair, Jacques Lachapelle. A licensed architect and full professor, Jacques Lachapelle has taught at the School of Architecture since 1982. He holds a PhD in History from the Université Laval. He is also a graduate of the Université de Montréal, where he obtained a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning and Design (History and Theory).
Professor Lachapelle is an expert in the field of Canadian and Quebec architecture. Much of his research focuses on the history of Quebec architecture in the 19th and 20th centuries. His doctoral thesis was published by Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal under the title “Le fantasme métropolitain–L’architecture de Ross et Macdonald.” He is currently working on a project that explores the oeuvre of J. Omer Marchand, the first Canadian architect to graduate from the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Here, he proposes an original analysis of Marchand’s work as a form of “identity mediation,” arguing that Marchand renewed then-current representations of French Canadian identity by framing them within a vision of architecture shaped by the theory and practice of the École des Beaux-Arts.
Widely recognized for his scholarly expertise, Professor Lachapelle has contributed to many heritage assessments. His lively interest in architectural design and the sensitive issue of its relation to the existing environment is reflected by the research project he carried out from 2005 to 2009 at the Laboratoire d’étude de l’architecture potentielle de l’Université de Montréal (LEAP), entitled “Innover et conserver: Créer l’architecture contemporaine au risque du patrimoine.” A member of the Conseil du patrimoine de Montréal since 2011, he has chaired this important body from 2012 to date. Greatly appreciated for his intellectual rigor, his determination and his deep commitment to the School of Architecture, he assumed his position on June 1, 2015.