Saint-Pierre Passage

Country Canada
City Montréal
Customer Société immobilière Trans-Québec
Year 2004

The creation of the Passage Saint-Pierre is part of the ongoing development of Montreal's underground pedestrian network and is one of the peripheral projects integrated with the developments of the Quartier international de Montréal (QIM).

Located at the eastern end of the World Trade Center Montreal (WTCM) atrium, the Passage provides access to the QIM underground network. This affords access, protected from the elements at all times, to the Convention Center with its link to the subway station, the Caisse de dépôt government building, underground parking and Jean-Paul Riopelle Square.

View of the entrance to Passage Saint-Pierre

In the unbuilt space of the former Fortifications Lane, between Saint-Pierre Street and the existing entrance to the CCMM, the Passage Saint-Pierre deploys its volume of steel and glass. From this space, bathed in natural light, one can discover at a glance the heritage Saint-James Hotel, the CCMM atrium and the InterContinental Hotel. The structure of the volume envelops the space of the Passage, and either leans delicately on its environment or detaches itself respectfully from it, thus preserving the architectural integrity of the whole. The design posed a major challenge due to the numerous physical, spatial and legal constraints associated with the site.

The main challenge in the design of the Passage was to provide the underground link to the QIM while maintaining the CCMM’s access to rue Saint-Pierre in a relatively small space, the width of the former ruelle des Fortifications. In addition, compliance with the Building Code required us to design the exterior shape of the atrium of the Passage Saint-Pierre according to the criteria of the “outreach façade” of the Saint-James Hotel, the rear façade of which borders the Passage.

The realization of the transparent veil covering the Passage, like a spider’s web, required great technical efforts at the level of the structure itself and of the junction of the various glass planes: all the calculations of the various elements of this external envelope had to be made in three-dimensional model and in geodetic coordinates.

The results of this architectural work are commensurate with the efforts put into its realization: the Passage is a space of great lightness, totally transparent and bathed in light, with a resolutely contemporary character while harmonizing with the more classical structure of the atrium. People coming from the QIM and entering the Passage Saint-Pierre thus have a direct and surprising view of the space of the alleyway and the grandiose atrium of the Montréal World Trade Center.