Archinect - News

Provencher_Roy uses recycled glass material to complete Darwin Bridges reconstruction in Montreal

2023-11-02T13:45:00-04:00

Provencher_Roy has shared photos following the firm’s completion of a bridge reconstruction project in Nuns’ Island, Montreal.

The new Darwin Bridges makeover represents the first instance of Ground Glass Pozzolan (GGP), a recycled glass product developed with researchers from the Université de Sherbrooke and the City of Montreal, being used in an architectural design worldwide.

The project succeeded in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 44 tons, while using over 88,000 pounds of locally sourced recycled glass (the equivalent of 70,000 wine bottles). A green space was enacted in a void created by removing the existing central median strip, and safety lighting has been installed to prevent tunnel sensation.

Image © Stephane Brugger

“The concept was always there, but the design and construction standards of the time favored the automobile. For this project, we were therefore working in a paradoxical 1960s context, on an innovative urban project to improve the user experience, while a...

Provencher_Roy completes transformation of historic downtown Montreal district into pedestrian mall

2022-10-19T15:59:00-04:00

Provencher_Roy has released photos of their recently completed pedestrian redevelopment along a six-block stretch of Montreal’s heavily-trafficked Sainte-Catherine St. West commercial district just north of Ville-Marie.

The project entailed the reimagining of a busy former four-lane street into a singular pedestrian and bicycle route between De Bleury and Mansfield Streets with the help of engineering consultants CIMA +.

Image by Adrien Williams, courtesy of Provencher_Roy

The plan increased greenery in the area by a total of 46% while eliminating street parking and drastically widening the sidewalk to create a linear plaza that connects a disjointed network of squares and public monuments into one “cohesive urban landscape.”

Image by Adrien Williams, courtesy of Provencher_Roy

Modular paving was used to achieve a visual distinction between vehicular lanes and the protected pedestr...

Benighted Quebecois architect Claude Provencher passes away at 72

2022-05-26T09:00:00-04:00

The Canadian architecture landscape is in mourning following the announcement that Provencher_Roy’s co-founder Claude Provencher passed away in Montreal on May 6th.

Provencher founded the firm along with Michel Roy in 1983 and went on to become a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and was honored as a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 2021 for his commitment to his métier and dedication to bettering life in the great city.

Provencher_Roy's design for the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts was a 2014 Canadian National Urban Design Award winner. Photo: Marc Cramer.

Known for his quintessential pursuit of projects that came to define the avant-garde of new urban architecture in his native country, Provencher created a number of award-winning designs, including Montreal’s World Trade Centre complex, the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the recent headquarters for th...

Montreal's cultural district expands with a distinct mixed-use tower by Provencher_Roy

2022-04-07T15:44:00-04:00

Canadian firm Provencher_Roy has produced a stunning addition to the Montreal skyline with Îlot Balmoral, a 13-story, mixed-use office building slotted in the city’s downtown.

Commissioned by Société d’Habitation de Montréal (SHDM), the structure is the final major development in Montreal’s cultural district Quartier des Spectacles. It sits adjacent to Place des Festivals and is the new home of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and UQAC’s École des arts numériques, de l'animation et du design (NAD School).

“We proposed four visions of what an office building specifically designed for a cultural economy could look like, and Îlot Balmoral was selected to echo the very vibrant, dynamic nature of the district,” explains architect Claude Provencher, founding partner at Provencher_Roy. “The Quartier des Spectacles is a cultural center of activity that is now almost complete in its revitalization and transformation of the urban fabric surrounding Place des Arts.”

The distinct buildin...