The North American city, as a social condenser, is struggling to reinvent itself. Cities, large and small, suffer from significant problems that manifest themselves in a lack of equity and social cohesion. This model, dependent on cheap energy, growing resource availability and immoderate car travel, has reached the point of no return. This is why counter-models are to be welcomed. Adopted by Vaudreuil-Dorion, the cultural mediation initiative ‘I AM’ carries a vision and a culture of ‘doing things differently’ based on citizen co-creation, a culture of equity and inspiring social cohesion.

On the site, the densification that has already begun reveals the emergence of a TOD that lacks a unifying heart. This is the ambition of our project: to create a creative and participative citizen space; flexible, inclusive and performing as a green infrastructure. In the design stages of the competition, our team was informed by the contributions of local associations and the actions of community groups rooted in the area. We are proposing a framework that will solicit citizen involvement in order to make it evolve: to shape together a place of belonging that will bring about a ‘WE ARE… VAUDREUIL-DORION’.

As a starting point for the urban programming, different scenarios of use are proposed by imagining a diversity of average citizens.
The landscape of the ‘NOUS SOMMES’ pole connects and re-connects the different districts and urban structures. The library and the town hall share a single building anchored on the south-western edge of the site. The future aquatic centre is set against the railway line. The two buildings are slightly offset in an east/west direction to create a variety of outdoor spaces. The architectural expression is based on luminosity and material simplicity, serving as a showcase for civic activities.
Our project proposes in phase II to weave the city. A green corridor crossing the railway tracks will join the neighbourhood to the north of the site. By 2030, the TOD ‘WE ARE’ becomes POD, and we imagine a mixed-use real estate development on the southern parking lot of the station, freeing the ground for pedestrians. The green corridor extends and the valley of the Municipal Pole runs to the Boulevard de la Gare, completing a city-wide space: the new Parc de la Gare. WE ARE’ then takes root in the entire civic sphere.

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We are very pleased to be awarded this project in consortium with Figurr.

The idea of designing an innovative, functional, holistic, sustainable, unique project, a striking Aboriginal symbol in the Montreal landscape, is one that we are very excited about. The urban Aboriginal population is constantly growing: 25,000 Aboriginals of all nations live in Montreal. In addition to natural growth, there is also the migration of Aboriginal Quebecers to urban centres, some fleeing the sometimes difficult housing conditions in the communities, others coming to study or work there, most often accompanied by family members. Our project with you will be co-designed, designed by and for you, inscribed in the Local Indigenous Design Charter and in the International Indigenous Design Charter, ICOD-D.

The program consists of the development of a complex of between 75 and 150 family-type social and community housing units and 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft. of community space for offices and multi-purpose rooms, to be built on a site reserved by the City of Montreal 10 minutes from the De l’Église metro station. It also includes the construction of an underground parking lot with 550 spaces for the residents and employees of the project, but also for the beneficiaries of the adjacent hospital and the citizens of the neighbourhood. In addition, this project should meet part of the strong demand for housing with 3 or more bedrooms for families with many children.

The project will have to be both plural, in order to recognise the specificities of each of the Aboriginal nations, and unifying, by putting forward the identity traits common to the diverse Aboriginal cultures.

Image header Ⓒ Coast Mountain Photography

In a climate of general adaptation, this project takes on the challenge of generating an hybrid ICP! After a year of extensive telework practice, we have all become experts! So let’s hear together how to change the world with this new tool: the virtual. We can identify its strengths and weaknesses, this kind of augmented reality and/or limitations of all forms. This project goes beyond that. It produced surprise, understood the advantage of the distance that was reduced when finally two people could meet easily in an even more unexpected territory. “We worked with a constrained integrated design process. This is the most efficient way to achieve better projects. It is sometimes uncomfortable, even confusing. But it works! We chose two so-called longitudinal themes to start the discussions for this ICP: movement and belonging. Children need both to learn. We will keep asking: “How will the child interact and move here? Why will the child like his or her school better and how? As we went along, new cross-cutting themes emerged: a set of key questions and indicators that are unique to it and that accompany the design process, because each project is unique.” Sudhir Suri

This project and its unique structure highlighted the needs of the students at this particular school. These needs led to the development of priorities and measurable indicators to free the design team from any illusions or preconceptions. The resulting project is true and embraced by the community already involved in the ICP. The resulting school has already taken different directions from the original assumptions to create a new, multi-use, biophilic, safe, adaptive and inclusive territory for the students but also for its entire community.

Drawings Ⓒ Rémi Maynegre

An exciting project to transform the Point St. Charles neighbourhood with an innovative community program, Building 7 is the result of close collaboration between L’OEUF and a deeply committed client group since 2009. An ambitious reuse and renovation of a warehouse building, the challenge of this project was to establish an elastic and flexible approach. Program changes and environmental improvements can be made over time without costly rework through intelligent and detailed design. B7 is a gathering and sharing space for the community, an alternative and accessible place, almost a city in itself. General shop, café-tavern, car and bicycle workshops, art workshops, co-working spaces, phase 1, allow for a connection between citizens. Recycle and reuse materials according to the principle of circular economy to improve affordability and massively reduce the carbon footprint. Promote social economy, local food production. Designing spaces that are both soothing and dynamic, unifying and intimate as well as high performing through the implementation of sustainable systems specifically adapted to the site and the needs of our clients.
The participatory design process: codesign, an inclusive process where the client and stakeholders are stakeholders and at the CENTRE of the process has radically changed the sustainability strategy and the designs themselves.
“The community of Point St. Charles is hanging on and holding on to save their neighbourhood and their world. Citizens are coming together and putting forward their own vision of development, focusing on social housing and the reclamation of a former CN workshop. A fabulous story of tenacity and solidarity. Ève Lamont, Le chantier des possibles.

“The mission of the Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles, CSSMI,  is to organize the educational services provided for in the Education Act (E.I.A.) and in the pedagogical plans established by the government. The mission of the school board is also to promote and enhance public education on its territory, to ensure the quality of educational services and the success of students in order to achieve a higher level of education and qualification of the population and to contribute, to the extent provided by law, to the social, cultural and economic development of its region.

In this context, the commissioning of various PCI studies by the CSSMI for their schools, such as Curé Paquin, Le Domaine Vert Nord, Trait D’Union and school furniture, are important ways to participate in the quality of educational services for the success of students. It is a chain reaction of social, cultural, environmental and economic development of the region, present and future. All this process is important to participate in the life and continuous learning of the students. Life can seem complex, paradoxical, difficult, and requires us to be imaginative and resilient in moving forward with care. It takes the right attitude, skills and courage to prepare for the future. For these projects, we opt for this integrated design process. Thus, collaborative work with a moving, organic structure is needed to develop the best response. Our culture and our way of learning need to be rethought to understand life and its changing realities. Our education has a massive impact on our daily lives and on the quality of our society.

To live differently, let us think differently about learning. ICPs for the stimulation and development of every child and every futur adult.

“Movement is the sine qua non of life; and education cannot be conceived of as a moderator or, worse still, as an inhibitor of movement, but as an aid to the proper distribution of energies and to letting them develop normally.”

Maria Montessori, Pédagogie scientifique, tome 1. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer p.5

Our client dreamed of a farm where he could both produce organic farming and live with his family while respecting the ecology of the site, both in terms of volumes and in terms of insertion and eco-design. We had to design an elegant, sustainable, responsible, simple and functional family home. 

Located in the Red River Valley, the iconic forms of agricultural buildings punctuate the landscape of the region: here, the house takes the austere, large and reserved form of an elongated gabled barn, perched from east to west and leaning against the fence. The ground floor has a large open area punctuated by the constructional framework, the envelope is designed as a thick thermal blanket and the wiry green roof seems to float above the massive stone wall. The post-and-beam frame, the exterior cladding made of old barn boards and the Champlain Sea quarry stones that make up the solid wall are all reclaimed and locally collected materials. In the end, the house is capable of potentially achieving Canadian Passive house certification but above all satisfies the desires of its occupants by striking the right balance between comfort, efficiency, responsible development and architectural design. Intertwining high-tech and low-tech, designing a highly contemporary building using local reclaimed materials. Giving new life to noble materials to provide a sensitive response to the programme between tension and tranquillity.

The community of the Notre Dame de Grâce neighbourhood wanted a “third place” library, emblematic of the 21st century, a space centred on the person, socially involved, accessible to all, innovative and in touch with its time. This close-knit, diverse and multi-ethnic community needed a place to meet, exchange and share. It is a project that contributes significantly to the community structure of the city. Thus, from the urban scale, where the L-shaped typology of the building is obvious, to the design of the interior spaces, which is simple and clearly legible, the cultural centre offers a wide variety of spaces. The 4500m2 are organised in a transversal “ZIG-ZAG” system and the circulation spaces are generous and continuous. The programme has been carefully studied and the attention paid to the management of proximities and interactions has allowed the creation of a new place that was not planned, not even imagined. The program combining library and performance space provides a new cultural heart to Montreal’s artistic landscape. Our creative spirit, combined with our experience in designing spaces that are perfectly calibrated to the needs, allowed us to create a place that is both dynamic and calm, ideal for reading and meetings. Two large public rooms allow the community to grow and all generations of citizens to come together. Gardens, atriums and courtyards interact with smaller, more intimate dens, so we have explored a wide spectrum of learning and community spaces. These elements combined make it the most visited library in Montreal today.
“A civic and cultural building, it is a centre for municipal services, a place for socializing and gathering in keeping with the spirit of the neighbourhood.
SOURCE: City of Montreal – Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee

The building is located in a heritage listed environment. The work was not to compromise circulation and user access to the existing elevators, shops and offices. The costs initially planned were revised downwards at the end of the preliminary work. We innovated with the implementation of the first interactive light wall in Montreal. We sought an original design with modern and refined lines and finishes that met the client’s requirements and budgetary criteria. We succeeded in carrying out the work with a minimum of discomfort to the occupants. We respected all heritage constraints. We adapted the sequence of work with the constraints of exits and accessibility of spaces at all times. We found creative solutions to do more with less in order to adapt to new budgetary constraints that emerged after the preliminary deposit.

Main challenges met
a) Explanations / justifications for delays / additions: Addition of elements requested by the client. Surprises found after demolition. Coordination of interrelated spaces with the adjacent building. Coordination of the reorganization of the coffee shop following the tenant’s refusal of the initial design.
b) Problems encountered: The building is located in a classified heritage environment. The work had to be done in a way that would not compromise the circulation and access of users to the elevators and the existing shops and offices. The costs initially planned were revised downwards at the end of the preliminaries.
c) We respected all the heritage constraints without being able to achieve a new, more contemporary look. We adapted the sequence of work with the constraints of exit and accessibility of the spaces at all times. We found creative solutions to do more with less in order to adapt to the new budget constraints.

Solutions and innovations
General assessment of your service delivery: We innovated with the implementation of the first interactive light wall in Montreal. We looked for an original design made of modern and refined lines and finishes that met the client’s requirements and budgetary criteria. We succeeded in doing the work with a minimum of discomfort to the occupants.

The Cooperative Bois Ellen dreamed of affordable housing in which its residents would take ownership of the ecological maintenance of the building. Recently built, it is located near the Place de la Concorde train and metro station, a neighbourhood in transition to multi-residential housing. Unlike the current trend of incorporating complex and sometimes very expensive technologies, our approach was totally different. Bois Ellen, as a result of our PCI integrated design process, focused on passive design implementations so that maintenance could be easily managed by the Co-op and its residents.
To complete our client support, we created guides with text and diagrams on the building’s passive systems. The residents themselves can understand and adjust the HRV systems in their homes, a technique that can reduce energy consumption by 35%. The Bois Ellen cooperative represents an accumulation of knowledge, experience and lessons learned from Coteau-Vert and Benny Farm: building envelope and technical measures on the one hand, and community engagement and livability on the other.

Ellen Wood was designed for seniors and families, while simplifying ongoing maintenance for the client and residents.
“At Ellen Wood, energy costs will remain intact even if energy costs increase because of our mentality to implement “scalable solutions” from the beginning of the project.
Sudhir Suri, Associate Architect, L’OEUF.