1995
Canadian Architect Award of Excellence The program for the expansion of the Faculty of Environmental Design at the Université de Montréal consisted of redeveloping 10,500 m² of an old building and expanding it by 4,500 m². The most significant part of the project is a 6-storey building that connects the east, north and west wings of the existing campus buildings. The building accommodates classrooms, workshops, and laboratories.
The existing building, already extended several times, required multiple interventions to adapt the new part to the old buildings. The introduction of reinforcements as spacers linked to the existing walls made it possible to remedy the lack of seismic measures without obstructing the spaces and traffic routes. A particular aspect of the project was the creation of an amphitheatre within the walls of the (existing) north building, which required the demolition of a large area of the second floor.
The new building is connected to the existing north wing by a multi-level passageway opening onto a 15-metre-high atrium sheltered by a sloping glass roof opening onto the inner courtyard. A bridge / walkway connects the south building to the west building and supports the north (glass) façade in a cantilevered manner.
For this project, NCK provided complete structural engineering consulting services.
