Lachine Canal 4.0: Finding a Territorial Identity for This Emblematic Employment Hub in Montréal

In the spring of 2023, Montréal and its partners launched Lachine Canal 4.0, a landmark urban transformation project to revitalize this industrial cradle of Canada. Lachine Canal 4.0 is the result of collaboration between multiple partners: the City, which instigated the land-use planning process, and the key players in this district, PME MTL Grand Sud-Ouest and PME MTL Ouest-de-l’Île, along with the boroughs of Lachine, LaSalle and Sud-Ouest. Guided by a firm commitment to the socio-economic development and promotion of Lachine Canal 4.0, these six partners have forged an innovative development vision for the area. Parks Canada, as the administrator of the Lachine Canal National Historic Site, is a vital partner as well, overseeing respect for the cultural, historic and environmental qualities of this location at the heart of the project territory. 

As part of implementation of these plans and programs to manage and support the development of the Island of Montréal’s industrial sectors, the Service du développement économique wishes to provide the boroughs and partners participating in the Lachine Canal 4.0 project with a guide to development of public and private lands in the economic areas adjacent to the Lachine Canal (the “Guide”). The Guide will state the development vision for the territory and document how it is to be implemented at the various scales of land-use planning action, on both public and private lands. The Guide is meant to be operational and incorporated into the by-laws of the boroughs involved, so that the full spectrum of actions taken within the Lachine Canal 4.0 territory responds to shared objectives and orientations that contribute to enhancing the quality of living environments and to promoting this employment hub. 

As part of the project to develop the Guide, the city’s Direction de la mise en valeur des pôles économiques is working with the Bureau du design to implement design processes that will make it possible to envision and consolidate—collectively, with all of the stakeholders—the desired vision and means of action for Lachine Canal 4.0. 

The Guide is an initial exercise in application of knowledge following the dissemination of the Handbooks of Best Practices for Design and Architecture Quality for Industrial Sites.

1. Initial meeting and site visit (approximately 3 h, in person)
   • Presentation of the preparatory documents 
   • Presentation and assignment of the work sites, by team
   • Site visit
2. Multidisciplinary design (remotely) 
   • Development of land-use planning scenarios giving concrete expression to the territorial development vision and objectives, plus identification of the multidisciplinary design criteria proposed, at the various scales of land-use planning action. 
3. Interim presentation to panel à 30% of project progress (approximately 2 h, in person)
4. Final presentation to panel at 100% of project progress (approximately 1 h 30 min, virtual)  
5. Presentation of deliverables 
   • The required level of detail is similar to that of the initial stages of a sketch. It is schematic and aimed at illustrating preliminary ideas in the form of mood boards, palettes, tables, charts, hand drawings or vector graphics, spatial planning diagrams, schematic plans and/or elevations. All of the ideas submitted will then be reviewed and reinterpreted ahead of the final design exercise, which will be under the responsibility of civiliti in collaboration with L’Enclume.
6. Public presentation (approximately 2 h, in person) 

We invite the professional community to come together and submit multidisciplinary teams. Each team should comprise four to eight professionals and must include at a minimum professionals in the disciplines of design, architecture and planning (e.g., architect, urban designer, landscape architect, industrial designer, social designer, graphic designer, signage/wayfinding expert); it may also include professionals from complementary disciplines who can contribute relevant experience to the discussions (e.g., heritage expert, sustainability expert, artist, artisan, mobility or logistics expert, real estate promoter or manager). 

Applications must be submitted using the form provided (see below) and must include only a brief presentation of the team’s motivations and the resources assigned to the mandate, in the following format:  

• Team motivation letter summarizing: 
  • Its understanding of the project under study; and
  • The value of its application; 
• Presentation of the assigned resources (one-page résumé per resource), including: 
  • Full name and title; years of experience;
  • Brief biography adapted to the specifics of the project; 
  • Role and responsibilities in the project; 
  • Relevant prior achievements.  

The applications will be reviewed by the members of the steering committee, solely on a qualitative basis, using the following criteria:  

• Understanding of the mandate;
• Expertise of the assigned resources;
  • In their areas of activity; 
  • In urban projects of similar nature and scope; 
• Interdisciplinary coherence linked to the composition of the team. 

A lump-sum amount of $20,000 (before taxes) will be paid to the submitting company or organization responsible for signing the professional services agreement with the City of Montréal. That entity will then be responsibility for reaching agreement with and paying its subcontractors.  

The primary aim of this workshop is to explore a range of development scenarios so as to enrich thinking on land-use planning. In no case shall teams’ participation result in the declaration of a winner or in the awarding of subsequent purchase orders. Consequently, the City of Montréal makes no promise to retain, for further detailed planning of the sector, any of the concepts developed during this exercise or any of the teams taking part in the workshop.  

The workshop organizers will not respond to any requests for information during the call for applications phase. The organizers make no commitment to select any of the applications received.