The Caisse populaire St-Jean-Vianney is an architectural work, of course, but also a work of art. Jordi Bonet, a sculptor and muralist, was responsible not only for the outside mural on the Caisse building, but also for the Stations of the Cross and the tabernacle in the neighbouring church, and an indoor mural at Collège Rosemont, not far away. Modern architecture often bears the imprint of an engineer/architect tandem. The project at issue here is characterized by exemplary contributions of a visual artist to architecture, a harbinger of later embellishments to provincial government buildings.

In the site planning and architectural integration program for Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Borough, the buildings on either side of the Caisse populaire are identified as significant. In other words, the borough has established that St-Jean-Vianney Catholic church (designed by Roger D’Astous) and St-Jean Marie Vianney school (by Gaston Gagnier) are significant, yet has ignored the contribution of Bernard Dépatie and Jordi Bonet. No doubt the tile mural is so well integrated with the building that it goes unnoticed.
The key issue is not to preserve the tilework at all costs; indeed, a visit in 2011 revealed that it was in poor shape in several areas. Rather, it is about informing the authorities and the public that the work (or at least what remains of it) exists, so that appropriate conservation measures can be taken if ever there are plans to change the entire exterior cladding. Otherwise, there is a risk of seeing yet one more work of art scrapped (on this subject, see the documentary Scrapper l’art, le cas de Jordi Bonet by Suzanne Guy, 2009).

Excerpt from the book Discovering modern Montréal and the Estérel resort in Québec, of France Vanlaethem et al., Civa editions and Docomomo Québec, 2007, p. 170:

“This corner building comprises a floor at street level dedicated to banking activities and an upper floor of offices available for rent, in a lay-out typical of the “caisses populaires” built after the Second World War. Its curtain wall is remarkable for its chequerboard effect featuring alternating glazed bays and ribbed ceramic panels. It was created by Jordi Bonet, a loyal collaborator of modern architects. Its originality contributes to the image of modernity that the institution wanted to present.”