In his novel Que notre joie demeure (Héliotrope, 2022), Kevin Lambert describes “starchitects” in the world of globalized capital – architects who owe their prestige to fabulous projects that rarely reflect social reality. Lambert’s main character, Céline Wachowski, celebrated Montréal architect and founder of Les Ateliers C/W, is about to inaugurate the Webuy complex in her hometown just as social groups are expressing disapproval of galloping gentrification in the midst of a housing crisis. The most striking inside joke in the novel, which has earned various awards – including the Médicis 2023 – is that Les Ateliers C/W is located at 305 rue de Bellechasse. In real life, this is the address of a former factory that was transformed into artists’ studios and fell prey to real estate speculation in 2020, when it was renovated and converted into high-priced spaces for sale or rent.

This is not a new story: in Montréal, as in many other Western cities, artists move into buildings that have been left empty until a new owner comes along. Their presence in the neighbourhood stimulates cultural and economic development, and when real estate developers discover this, they purchase the buildings and accelerate the gentrification process. In his documentary 305 Bellechasse, dans l’intimité des ateliers d’artistes (Tulp Films, 2022), Maxime-Claude L’Écuyer showcases the artistic creativity of some of the building’s occupants right up to the day when real estate speculation cuts their activity short. Thus, by situating Les Ateliers C/W at an address that is well known

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