Design of Espace Rivière in Rivière-des-Prairies

The subject of this competition is the Espace Rivière construction project in the Arrondissement Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles. A new building and/or expansion is to be built on the site of the existing library at the corner of Perras and Rodolphe-Forget boulevards in the Rivière-des-Prairies neighbourhood. The multidisciplinary architecture competition will involve construction totalling approximately 10,060 m² of gross floor area.

Competitors are free to submit what they consider to be the most relevant of the potential architectural solutions—retain, redevelop and expand, or deconstruct the existing building and construct a new one—provided that the needs of the program and requirements of the property owner are fulfilled.

Competitors’ considerations must include, but are not limited to, the pros and cons relative to the site’s architectural and development potential, the project’s environmental value and the investment required

This multidisciplinary architecture competition an opportunity to endow the Rivière-des-Prairies neighbourhood with a distinctive building with an original design that will raise the area’s profile and enable it to positively differentiate itself, while fulfilling the city’s duty to be exemplary in promoting design excellence and strengthening Montréal’s status as a UNESCO City of Design. 

Implementing the Espace Rivière project will, among other things:

• Provide residents of the eastern tip of Montréal Island with high-quality facilities and services to compensate for the fact that the large city facilities are some distance away, and for the significant deficiency in cultural and recreational infrastructures;
• Address the long-expressed need to build a new Rivière-des-Prairies Maison de la culture, as it is the last remaining maison of the original network that has no dedicated space in which to offer services to the public;
• Remedy the shortcomings and obsolescence of the Rivière-des-Prairies library and bring it up to next-generation standards;
• Resolve the challenges facing the Rivière-des-Prairies community centre, which is currently occupies leased spaces that have long been too confined and ill-suited to their purpose;
• Incorporate the Rivière-des-Prairies Accès Montréal office into the new building.

The project plan promotes a mix of services, synergy among the teams and a diversity of potential uses in one location. The various services will co-exist according to a decompartmentalized concept with the premises divided among three departments (secteurs) and six hubs (pôles).

These new facilities will be built in conjunction with the urban revitalization of the Pôle civique René-Masson, which will become the Pôle Espace Rivière. The overall project will see the establishment take on an identity-shaping role for the neighbourhood and be in coherent dialogue with its natural and landscaped environment: the nearby woodland and the Rivière des Prairies.

The project budget is $46,324,522.06, taxes included, in 2022 dollars.

This project competition is:

• A multidisciplinary architecture competition;
• Open to competitors from Québec or any province or territory covered by an intergovernmental agreement on liberalization of public procurements applicable to the Ville de Montréal;
• Held in two stages: the first involving submission packages and the second involving service offerings submitted by a maximum of four finalists selected by the jury;
• A reduced-service competition, to allow the winning team to pursue the project concept in integrated design process (IDP) mode with the Ville de Montréal project team.

Any team comprising at least the following professionals is eligible to enter the competition:

• Sponsoring architect;
• Co-ordinating architect with at least five years of experience;
• Design architect:
  • PA LEED or PA LEED C+CB, with at least five years’ experience;
    OR
  • Principal design architect without LEED certification with at least five years’ experience AND an assisting design architect, PA LEED or PA LEED C+CB, with at least five years’ experience;
• Site supervisor architect with at least ten years’ experience;
• Landscape architect with at least five years’ experience;
• Civil engineer with at least five years’ experience;
• Structure engineer p with at least five years’ experience;
• Mechanical engineer:
  • PA LEED or PA LEED C+CB, with at least five years’ experience;
    OR 
  • Without LEED certification with at least five years’ experience AND an assisting mechanical engineer, PA LEED C+CB, with at least five years’ experience;
• Electrical engineer with at least five years’ experience;
• Site supervisor engineer with at least ten years’ experience.

Teams must be made up of professionals who are members in good standing of their professional orders or national associations governing the right to practise in their respective fields and must be authorized to practise their profession in Québec under the applicable laws.

• Étienne Bernier, architect, Étienne Bernier Architecture
• Ismaïla Camara, Engineer, Arrondissement de Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles
• Maya El Kheir, architect, Division Équipements culturels et bureau d'art public, Service de la culture, Ville de Montréal
• Caroline Lajoie, architect, CIRCUM.ARCHITECTURE
• Ford McKeown Larose, dancer and choreographer, Forward Movements
• Sylvie Perrault, architect, Perrault Architecture
• Jenny Salgado, musician and multidisciplinary artist
• Peter Soland, architect, civiliti
• Claude Toupin, Section Chief, Division culture et bibliothèques, Arrondissement de Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles

Competitors (Stage 1)
No fees or allowances will be paid at this stage of the competition.

Finalists (Stage 2)
Each finalist who presents a service offering deemed compliant with the Rules will receive a lump sum of $130,000, before taxes. 

Winner
The maximum amount budgeted for the professional fees to be paid for completion of the project is $6,340,000, taxes included (and including the fees paid for Stage 2).

The competition documents (Rules and Program) will be available through the SÉAO electronic tendering system beginning March 29, 2022.

Only submissions from people who have downloaded the documents through the SÉAO system will be considered.

Competitors’ and finalists’ complete submission or service offering dossiers must be received by the following dates:

Stage 1 / Submission packages
May 26, 2022, no later than 1:30 p.m. ET

Stage 2 / Finalists’ service offerings
September 13, 2022, no later than 1:30 p.m. ET

All communications must be e-mailed to the competition professional consultant, Michelle Décary, at: @email

Given the health restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ville de Montréal may be required to amend the competition timetable and the conditions for presentations to the jury depending on the evolution of the situation.

This competition is being held in compliance with the proposed Règlement type pour un concours d'architecture, pluridisciplinaire ou de design de la Ville de Montréal (Model rules for an architectural, multidisciplinary, or design competition sponsored by the Ville de Montréal) approved by the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation (MAMH).