Victor Depocas fonds

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Part of

• Fonds: Victor Depocas fonds, 1921-1986

People

• Victor Depocas (archive creator)
• Victor Depocas (architect)
• Deshaies & Depocas (associated architectural firm)

Title

Victor Depocas fonds

Dates of creation

1921-1986

Form

• archives

Level of archival description

Fonds

Extent and Medium

• Approximately 2184 drawings (including reproduction copies)
• Approximately 935 photographic material
• 132 journals
• 4 books
• 3 l.m. of textual records
• 1 watercolor
• 1 model

Scope and Content

The fonds documents the professional practice of Victor Depocas as an architect in Québec. The archive is composed of documents produced between 1921 and 1986, but predominantly between 1956 and 1984. The fonds contains administrative records from his office, Deshaies & Depocas (1946-1950), from his time as a professor of l’École de Beaux-arts de Montréal (1953-1957), and from his time as a member of the Province of Québec Association of Architects (A.A.P.Q.) and the Ordre d’Architects du Québec (O.A.P.). The fonds documents many architectural projects from Depocas’ work as a member of the Commission des monuments historiques du Québec (1956-1984) including restorations, renovations and modifications of residential, educational, ecclesiastical, and commercial buildings across Québec (Montréal, Longueuil, Saint-Sulpice, Terrebone, Sainte-Agathes-des-Monts, among others). The architectural projects along with general office files are represented in conceptualization and design development drawings, working drawings and photographs. Depocas’s personal travels are also documented in the fonds through photographs. The textual records include studies, correspondence, financial and legal records, and publications. The fonds also contains one model of the project Centre de Psychologie et Pédagogie.

Reference Number

AP028

Arrangement

This fonds is not yet arranged.

Biographical notes

Victor Depocas (1901-1985) was born in Hull, Québec. Based in Montréal, Depocas was admitted as a member of the Province of Québec Association of Architects (A.A.P.Q.) in 1946 [1]. Depocas was trained in the firm of Jean-Omer Marchand's agency before forming his own firm, David & Depocas, with partner Charles David (1890-1962) later on [2]. Together, they worked on the war veteran’s Hospital at Senneville (1947) for the Department of Veteran Affairs of Canada. In 1947, Depocas formed the architecture office Deshaies & Depocas (1946-1950) with Joseph David Deshaies (1904-1991). The firm designed buildings such as the Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu de Saint-Jérôme (1948), and the École de garçons de Terrebonne (1950), among others [3]. During that time, he dedicated his work to modern architecture focusing on educational, ecclesiastical, and health institutions buildings.

Depocas was appointed Professor of architectural composition at l'Université de Montréal (former l’École de Beaux-arts de Montréal) in 1953, where he worked until 1957. In 1956 he became the Commission des monuments historiques du Québec’s appointed architect of the Montréal region. After joining the commission, Depocas specialized in the restoration and renovation of 18th century heritage residences and ecclesiastical buildings. The methodology of the Commission was to restore the original “style” of the constructions, changing Depocas’ architectural style from modernist to vernacular. Some of his restauration work included the Maison Simon-Lacombre (1957), the renovation of Saint-Michel College (now the Regional Museum of Vaudreuil-Soulanges) (1964-1965), and the conversion of the Maison Saint-Gabriel into the Musée Lachine (1965-1966) [4]. Depocas also designed commercial buildings such as Le Gobelet (1963) [5], considered as a famously vernacular and rustic style building in Montréal (now demolished) [6]. Depocas was also a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada since at least 1949 [7], and of the Ordre des architects du Québec since 1974.

[1] Journal Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. 1949. Journal Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 32 (12).

[2] Noppen, L. and Morisset, L.K. 2001. L’église Saint-Joachim de Châteauguay, Québec. Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 26 (3), pp. 45-63.

[3] Culture et Communications Québec. (nd). Depocas, Victor. In Répertoire du Patrimoine Culturel du Québec. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=7434&type=pge . Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada (1800-1950). (nd). Deshaies, Joseph David. In Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from

http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/2126

[4] Maison Saint-Gabriel. (2020, March 20). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Saint-Gabriel

[5] Legendre, O. 1997. Les Beaux Jours du Gobelet. Carte Blanche.

[6] Arsenault, R. 2011. Les commerces kitsch exotiques au Québec : Reconnaissance et sauvegarde d’un nouveau patrimoine. Université du Québec à Montréal.

[7] Journal Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. 1949. Journal Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 26 (4), p. 125.

Conditions governing access

• Access by appointment only.

Conditions governing reproduction

• For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the fonds, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

• Gift of Claire Emmanuelle Depocas-Roche in 1988.

Archivist's note

• In January 2021 Alejandro de la Fuente created a fonds level description using a legacy inventory.

Credit line

When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation: Victor Depocas fonds, Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.

Language of material

French, English

Related units of description

• The Ross & Macdonald fonds (AP013) at the CCA also holds original drawings presented as copies in the Victor Depocas fonds. The Fonds Guy-Frégault held by the Centre de Recherche en Civilisation Canadienne-Fraçaise of the Faculté des arts Université d’Ottawa includes a file about Depocas.