Carré Saint-Laurent

Country Canada
City Montréal
Customer Société de développement Angus
Surface area 20,000 m²
Year 2019
Certification LEED NE Silver

Carré Saint-Laurent breathes new life into the iconic intersection of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Sainte-Catherine Street, contributing to the district’s economic, cultural, and social vibrancy.

It houses the offices of the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI), the MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises museum, and Le Central, an innovative culinary destination. This project aligns with a sustainable development approach, preserving the organizational layout, urban composition, scale, and footprint of the historic buildings that once defined this legendary neighborhood, now undergoing significant transformation.

The main façade features an architectural collage incorporating all recoverable elements from the 19th-century façades, merging historical heritage with contemporary design.

Fragments of the original façades are embedded in a contemporary stone infill base, emphasizing their texture and depth. Vertical cut-outs trace the silhouette of the original buildings, while the windows highlight the contemporary nature of the architecture.

This approach stands out for its authenticity and its respectful tribute to The Main's heritage, while avoiding a literal pseudo-historical reconstruction. It is grounded in the principles of the Vienna Memorandum on “World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture - Managing the Historic Urban Landscape”.

The first floor, spanning the entire site, houses the MEM. Above, a nine-storey volume accommodates MIFI's offices, designed to allow natural light to flood its core through a glazed fault line cutting through the levels, creating bright, welcoming, and collaborative workspaces.

Café Cléopâtre, one of the last remnants of Montréal’s cabaret era, remains on the block beside the new multifunctional complex. On the ground floor, Le Central offers an open, fluid space, seamlessly traversed by a pedestrian passageway.