The beloved tale of the three little pigs is basically a parable about architecture — and the importance of material considerations within the profession. The pigs seek to build homes that will protect them from a marauding wolf, the first two using precarious straw and wood, the third erecting an indestructible brick hut. For the 2019 International Garden Festival in Grand-Métis, Quebec, Kim Pariseau of APPAREIL architecture built Le dernier petit cochon, a physical dramatization of the folktale. Visitors can easily approach the site via the grass field and wooden pathway, but the in situ– constructed tower itself — a red-brick chimney standing 5.5 metres tall on a poured-concrete base 3.3 metres in diameter — proves difficult to enter. It is accessible only via a high window reached by a cast-iron ladder. To move through the installation — with its various changes and challenges — is to experience a narrative unfolding in real time.

Project Le dernier petit cochon Location Grand-Métis, Canada Firm APPAREIL architecture (Canada) Team Kim Pariseau with Marc- Antoine Juneau Photos Félix Michaud