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620, Saint-Paul Ouest
By : Lemay
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 14th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Commercial Building / Mid & High-Rise Office Building (≥ 5 storey-high) : Gold Certification
Categories : Special Award / Wood featured in architecture : Gold Certification
The recently rehabilitated John Lysaght Building was built in 1904, at a time when warehouses of all kinds and especially foundries were plentiful in the Faubourg des récollets.
The former workshop’s introverted nature meticulously preserved through two façades, a new mid-rise presence places wood at its very heart with an exposed structure that pays homage to Quebec’s mighty timber industry, its craftsmen and the neighbourhood’s industrial heritage.
Engineered wood was the ideal material for this project: light, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, noble, warm and highly innovative. It also meshes with the new architectural concept: a modern building uniting tradition and innovation, Quebec roots and the future. The stunning black spruce imparts a warm quality to the indoor spaces, softening the atmosphere with its light tones and smooth, unvarnished texture.
The symbolic wooden element is maximized by not only being left exposed but revealed through a large window overlooking downtown Montreal, its wheat tones standing out against the original façade’s red masonry. This fenestration also contrasts with the original building, whose statement endures, encompassing the lower floors. A window to the future embraces a door to the past, an architectural silence between them.
Showcasing the boreal forest’s spruce, this project recounts the history of the forest and the industrial heart of North America as it embraces the vibrant nature of today’s Montreal.
Collaboration
Architect : Lemay
