Exterior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Center

Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre

Country Canada
City Montréal
Customer Ville de Montréal
Surface area 375 m²
Year 2019
Certification LEED NC Gold

The Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre is the first net-zero energy building in Montréal, producing as much energy as it consumes.

Located in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough in Basile-Routhier Park, near the Rivière des Prairies, it is a flagship sustainable development project.

The welcome center serves mainly as a rest stop and includes spaces for relaxation, a café, a multi-use room, washrooms, and a service point for the rental and repair of sports equipment; it also houses the offices of a community organization and depots for materials and maintenance equipment. Also present are outdoor spaces: a sheltered terrace looking out onto the park and the river, an amphitheatre with tiered seating incorporating vegetative elements, an accessible green roof, and a large elevated terrace for appreciating the canopy of mature trees.

General exterior view of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre in the evening

Exterior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre, with a view of benches

Exterior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre, with a view of the terrace

Interior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre, view of the kitchen

Interior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre

General exterior view of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Center

Besides providing services to park users and the broader community, the welcome center fulfills an educational mission as an environmental showcase focused on the principles of sustainable development that informed the project’s design and construction and that continue to be applied in its operation. The activities programming further promotes the safeguarding of the environment and also healthy lifestyle choices, particularly from the standpoint of diet and physical activity.

The welcome center features a large multi-use space on the second floor as well as a shelter topped with solar panels for hosting a variety of community and cultural activities. The architectural design gives the building a distinctive signature and harmoniously integrates the structure into its surroundings while enabling it to meet user needs.

View of the exterior entrance of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Centre

Rainwater collection tank.

Exterior of the Parcours Gouin Welcome Center, view of a shelter

Solar pannel shelter.

The welcome center has earned LEED Gold certification and has an annual net-zero energy consumption target. The facility offers informative and awareness-building tools that convey environmentally responsible best practices to visitors and hopefully inspire them to apply such practices back at home. The strategies implemented by the pavilion are demonstrated and explained during guided visits. The result is a place that is dynamic, accessible and a must-see attraction in the heart of the neighborhood.