Lemay has won a coveted Architizer A+ Award for its Bellechasse Transport Centre project for the Société de transport de Montréal.
This transit infrastructure project is revolutionary in its futuristic, spiral-shaped design that conceals heavy-vehicle operations underground while offering employees high-quality workspaces. Sustainable and citizen-focussed, it thoughtfully integrates with the surrounding residential context and provides precious, unexpected greenspace that is accessible to nearby residents. The design ultimately enhances the urban context, promotes well-being and reduces the hub’s environmental impact.
Architizer’s is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture around the world.
Underlying the entire project’s functional program was the desire to drastically reduce its noise and visual pollution as compared to the feasibility study’s initial proposal. It cleverly conceals parking and maintenance zones underground, enabling the aboveground creation of a system of parks and scenic paths open to the public.
A circular figure shelters administrative offices and leisure spaces for users as part of an open concept offering attractive city views, with employees receiving abundant natural light via skylights. The building’s reduced scale promotes its harmonious insertion into the urban context as its monumental quality pays homage to the area’s industrial-era remains. An emphasis on reinforcing pedestrian passage and public spaces reconnects the adjacent residential area and a nearby green network.
