Montreal Heart Institute

The project is comprised of a new ambulatory care centre, connected underground parkade, training center employing cutting-edge technology, critical care units (Cardiology and Intensive Care), and a modernized Emergency Department. These facilities have been devised to support the MHI’s standards of excellence in the realms of prevention, patient care, teaching, and cardiovascular medicine research.

The spaces revolve around well-considered circulations and the simple notion of clarifying the comings and goings of building users by creating distinct fluid pathways for clinical groups and the public. The care taken in addressing circulations enables the decongestion of both interior and exterior transition spaces at the Institute. For example, a grand hall and the hallway linking levels 1 and 2 enable orienting people arriving at the main entrance toward the tall volume housing ambulatory functions, while a ramp dedicated to ambulance access ensures the functionality of the Emergency Department. These new access points serve to limit circulation within clinical and logistical corridors, in addition to ensuring safety for all and the efficiency of the establishment.

While the third and fourth floors are dedicated to healthcare units, the fifth floor is reserved for offices. On these upper levels, a shading system allows for the modulation of the abundant natural light entering the building, depending on the time of day. Flexibility of use is key here. If the Montreal Heart Institute ever deems it necessary, the administrative area can be demolished so that the entire floor becomes a new 30-bed healthcare unit. 

The project promotes the reuse of existing surfaces: an extension of the north block, around and above it, was proposed by the team to integrate what was already in place, in a cost-effective, time-efficient, and resource-conscious approach. Finally, the west block is ready to accommodate a total of six floors in the future. The structure was designed to support the expansion of outpatient or research functions, depending on the development needs of the MHI.

At the MHI, the team proposes to make use of a maximum of green spaces devised for patients and medical personnel alike. While before the centre only disposed of a few uninviting grass patches at the edges of buildings and parking lots, today it benefits from a design integrating a green terrace accessible to patients of the Intensive Care unit on the 3rd floor, and a vast green courtyard in which users are invited to stroll and slow down their pace. In fact, the circulation at the heart of the building is articulated around this exterior space. Immense glazed spaces on three sides of the courtyard encourage the enjoyment of views of this peaceful oasis, constituting a main focal point of the site. These surroundings establish a landmark for users to situate themselves in the building at any given moment. 

The desire to multiply various perspectives of the city also manifests itself in patients’ rooms, spaces benefitting from the highest fenestration possible in addition to views of landscaped zones, rather than of simple roofing. The resulting enhancement of patient and personnel well-being represents a first step in the healing process.