Would you walk through Nathan Phillips Square with this man?

Let’s put it this way: you should, and now you can. Now available on PORTRAIT SONORE’S website, or with their app, is a half-hour audio tour of Nathan Phillips Square by Chris Pommer, PLANT’s Partner-in-Charge on that 2016 Governor General’s Medal in Architecture-winning project. Founded by Montreal-based architect Sophie Mankowski, PORTRAIT SONORE is an organization that uses mobile technologies to connect the people who shape urban spaces to those who enjoy exploring them. Working with musician and sound designer Antoine Bédard and graphic designer Serge Rhéaume, Mankowski has developed the Canada Modern Project, series of podcast documentaries on landmarks of the Modernist built environment in Canadian downtowns. When you listen to the podcasts while walking through these spaces, visuals on your phone or tablet provide orientation and historical background. From Chris’s podcast, you’ll gain revealing insights into Viljo Revell’s original ideas for Nathan Phillips Square, and how the Revitalization design team balanced landmark preservation with the transformation of the square into exemplary 21st-century public space. Chris, by the way, is in excellent company: other PORTRAIT SONORE podcast presenters include Phyllis Lambert, Morden Yolles, and Marie-Josée Therrien.