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Concordia District°

location: Montreal, Canada

client: Concordia University

Finalist, invitation-based competition, in collaboration with ArchitectsAlliance (Toronto).

°Co-designed/cirected by MLauzon Senior Partner NOMADE

The Challenge

The objective of this invitation-based national competition was to produce a masterplan that would guide the urban planning efforts of the Concordia University Campus in the westhern part of downtown Montreal. The main challenge of the project was to develop a unifying vision and an overarching identity for the Sir George Williams downtown campus that is at once wholly linked with - and clearly identifiable within - the existing Montreal urban context.

The Response

Our proposal draws from an overlay of patterns: the original topography, the cadastral land division and the streets and properties of the University’s actual and anticipated usage. Design at its best is both informed by the past and speaks to the future: the concept promotes this tenet, setting forth a palette of materials and a genesis of form that reinforces the evolution of the quarters within Montreal and counterbalances the idiosyncratic nature of property acquisition. The masterplan proposes a hierarchy of small and medium-sized public spaces that are linked to groves and indigenious gardens by a lush meandering canopy and pedestrian paths, making this concept both green and sustainable. The informal networks and meeting places of the district are represented by ‘‘book ode’’ grids of varying intensities using a palette of paving, lighting and natural textures in the horizontal and vertical planes. The barcode grid is also regulated by a coherent use of street furniture, wayfinding, signage, lighting and public art in order to define a strong graphic identity for the campus.

Expertise(s)

THINK-TANK & INCUBATOR, EXPERIENCE DESIGN

Market(s)

Urban Design, Planning, Education

Distinctions

Finalist, national design competition

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