The Canadian Competition Catalog is regularly updated by the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions, and Quality (CRC-ACQUA) at the University of Montreal. Recent additions include three projects involving cultural centers and urban landscapes, as well as more than forty projects designed in Quebec.
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1 – The competition for the Centre Gadbois (2023), won by Prisme + ADHOC Inc.
The Centre Gadbois occupies a paradoxical place in Montreal’s collective imagination. Built in 1960 as part of the city’s effort to make sports accessible to all, it has since been transformed by gradual additions, surviving in the shadow of the Turcot Interchange while serving generations of athletes and citizens. As Montreal reimagined this iconic facility, the design competition for its renovation and partial reconstruction became more than just a technical exercise: it was a reflection on how memory, landscape, and community can be reintegrated into the very fabric of architecture. Thus, the new Centre Gadbois would highlight the heritage elements of the original building, integrate into the surrounding urban fabric, and offer the community better access to sports and recreation.
Excerpt from an editorial by Yolene Handabaka Ames, a doctoral student in architecture at the University of Montreal:
“The objective of the two-stage multidisciplinary architecture competition, launched by the City of Montreal in 2023, was to design the renovation and partial reconstruction of the Centre Gadbois, a building of heritage significance and a major community sports facility located in the Sud-Ouest borough, near the Turcot Interchange and the Lachine Canal National Historic Site.
The competition brief was ambitious. It called for minimal demolition and the restoration of key elements of the 1960 structure, the reorganization of a complex interior, and the creation of a central civic space. Urban integration was essential: the building had to open up to Gadbois Park, the Saint-Pierre woonerf, and the canal, while addressing the negative impacts of the road infrastructure.
The environmental transition was equally central, with LEED Silver certification as the benchmark and broader goals aligned with Montreal’s 2030 Agenda. Beyond the technical aspects, the project was designed to embody inclusivity through the ADS+ principles, ensuring that Gadbois would be accessible to all citizens. »
Yolene Handabaka Ames
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2 – The competition for the new multifunctional cultural center in Beaconsfield (2024), won by Lemay + Bouthillette Parizeau + Elema
The competition for a new multifunctional cultural center in the City of Beaconsfield is a multidisciplinary architectural competition aimed at providing the municipality with an architectural and public development project that combines a library with spaces to support cultural activities.
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3 – The “Réimaginer la rue commerçante” Competition (2021), won by Étienne Bernier Architecture + Julien Delannoy
The urban design ideas competition for the redevelopment of Notre-Dame Street in Lachine aims to encourage the submission of innovative proposals that will enrich the discussion on the future of this thoroughfare. The competition results will be compiled into a “book of possibilities” that will serve as a basis for discussion during the consultation process with local stakeholders (residents, merchants, elected officials, civil servants, developers, etc.) to plan the improvements that will be implemented following the infrastructure work scheduled for the coming years.