Gare Viger

The sleek glass curtain wall of the new office building harmoniously reflects the historic Château, enabling it to retain its original architectural splendour. The new and existing buildings are organized around a central courtyard, constituting the heart of the project. Today, the green space has been revived in the form of a courtyard offering a rare oasis of greenery in downtown Montréal, bringing new views of the historic architecture of the site and surrounding downtown and Old Port neighbourhoods, while conveying the strong appreciation of outdoor spaces central to the original project.

The new office building is aligned with the Gare Viger Château and takes the form of a 7-storey with a fully glazed curtain wall. The design mainly accommodates office spaces. The glass materiality of the building’s façade functions harmoniously alongside the concrete used for the residential tower (echoing the nearby Clock Tower)and zinc used for the residences (echoing the construction materials and techniques of traditional Old Montréal roofing). The courtyard delineates an axis and sightlines between the central tower of the original Château and the new entranceway to the residences and hotel, featuring a grand staircase beyond the Porte Cochère focal point. On a practical note, the 2-level underground parkade serves as a connecting element linked to all the buildings making up the site.

Given that the Gare Viger real estate development will create an urban campus environment for young professionals accommodating the offices of tech companies, its location is perfectly aligned with Montréal’s Express Bike Network, running between Gare Viger at its southern extremity and the machine learning community further north in Mile-Ex. As building users, cyclists will thereby assist in reducing fuel emissions and be able to circulate smoothly between the two tech poles, benefitting from a large bicycle parking space and showers at Gare Viger. The placement of the development in close proximity to the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) also encourages employees of the university hospital and the scientific community to access its shops and courtyard space by foot.