Villeray is a neighborhood deeply rooted in the community fabric. A family-oriented area where alleyways become true social ecosystems: networks of neighbors who greet each other, help one another. It’s a borough of alleyways. A population that is getting younger, dynamic, vibrant: Maison de la culture, Jean-Talon Market, Plaza St-Hubert, Jarry Park, murals, music, theater…

To connect these alleyways, the park becomes a shared backyard – open, familiar, collective. Stories and books sow ideas there, just like planting seeds. In the park, seeds become vegetables, wildflowers, layered ecosystems. Ecosystems within ecosystems, all ready to bloom.

It’s in this spirit that we imagined the library: a barn with a rusted roof, built with heavy timber, tucked at the back of the yard. Where, when you leave the Patro, you immediately find yourself near a garden. Where, in the park, you feel sheltered, safe. Where, in the library, you find the space and momentum to imagine the future – alone or together – without judgment.

Building a library means CHOOSING knowledge over ignorance, solidarity over division, hope over fear. It’s about creating a place where you rise when an idea emerges – because the tools are within reach and because fellow citizens are there to help. We see this library as a social infrastructure that fosters exchange, collective courage, and shared action.

«The first time we went there as a family, I wasn’t expecting to reel with amazement…I will remain convinced for the rest of my days that these places have to be beautiful to let us know they matter.»
– Caroline Dawson, As the Andes Disappeared.