-1603x680.jpg)
-992x680.jpg)
-1231x680.jpg)
-907x680.jpg)
Share to
Sanctuaire du Mont-Royal
By : NEUF architect(e)s
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 15th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Other categories in architecture / Continuing Value : Platinum Winner, Gold Certification
Initiated in the late 1970s, Le Sanctuaire is considered a landmark in Montreal today and known for popularizing the concept of the condominium as a new residential typology.
Le Sanctuaire is located on a land area of approximately 81,800 ft2, nestled between the mountain and several different neighborhoods including Outremont, Westmount, Hampstead, and Ville Mont-Royal. A project of this scale was rare at the time because of the limited availability of large plots of land near downtown. The project’s distribution into multiple volumes and its terraced silhouette broke up the huge surface area and allowed units on the upper floors to have views on three sides.
The first five phases of Le Sanctuaire were built between 1983 and 1987. They offered 136, 106, 127, 166, and 190 units respectively, for a total of 725 housing units ranging from 1,000 ft² to 3,300 ft2 and including one to three bedrooms. The architects reserved the centre of the plot for community services (including shopping, medical and sports centres, a running track, tennis courts, and an indoor swimming pool), as well as preserving the existing forest in the southwest portion of the site. All the units can access these amenities through a shared connection in the underground parking garage. Two subsequent phases with 103 and 112 new units were added in 1989 on Northcrest Place.
It is also one of the few iconic projects in Montreal that is “totally precast” according to Shockbeton, the contractor responsible for its construction. Le Sanctuaire was also the only project built entirely from an assembly of prefabricated concrete modules at this time. A self-supporting facade system and a cast-on-site slab and beam system for the interiors were chosen for their capacity to satisfy the new owners' desire for open floor plans. A waterproof building envelope combined with a mixed ventilation system minimized energy costs. Separating the peripheral balconies from the main structure improved thermal insulation, which enhanced the building’s performance and minimized heat loss. Green roofs, natural ventilation, and high-energy performance: all of these sustainable design principles introduced by the project are more relevant today than ever before.
Le Sanctuaire marked a major social change in Montreal in the 1980s with condos providing more affordable access to home ownership in proximity to the urban core’s dense public transportation and amenities. The condo as a housing typology developed rapidly in the next decades, contributing to the densification of cities and lowering car dependency by reducing urban sprawl. In 2005, it became the most common type of new-built housing and in 2019 the best-selling real estate product, having adapted to the changing lifestyles and values over the last forty years.
-1920x814.jpg)
-1920x1316.jpg)
.jpg)
-1920x1439.jpg)