Experts from Paris, Brussels, Geneva, and Edmonton presented five ways to stimulate excellence in design and architecture through project management and public procurement practices.
Organized jointly by the Bureau du design and the Federation Wallonia-Brussels' architectural unit (Cellule architecture), the seminar on public procurement was part of the travelling exhibition entrer: en interference at UQAM’s Centre de design.
More specifically, the public seminar looked at procurement practices and how they affect project quality and schedules. The presentation focussed on tangible and proven examples, identifying the most compelling bidding practices, examining them step by step, and determining their common or unique points as a way to enrich the city’s approach to developing the Montréal Agenda for Quality in Design and Architecture.
The selection of the practices discussed reflects the diversity of the architectural projects involved (cultural, housing, public spaces), the size of the contracting authorities (city, canton, region), and the geographical locations.
Francesco Della Casa, Canton Architect– Republic and Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
Architect and architecture critic, Francesco Della Casa has been the canton architect of the Republic and Canton of Geneva since 2011. He was previously editor in chief of the journal TRACÉS and member of the editorial board of Architecture d’Aujourd’hui. He currently serves as architecture critic for several European architectural journals (Werk, Archi, Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Bauwelt, A+, etc.).
He has written several books, including Genève2020-Cohabitations (Editions InFolio, Gollion 2006), Rolex Learning Center (Editions PPUR, Lausanne 2008), La Friche la Belle de Mai (Editions Actes Sud, Arles 2013), and Bien sûr, Chicago (Editions Furor, Geneva 2016).
Chantal Dassonville, Architect, Deputy Director, Federation Wallonia-Brussels (Cellule architecture) – Belgium
Architect, graduate of the ISA Loci Bruxelles (1980). After starting employment with the French Community of Belgium in 1985, she was in charge of cultural infrastructure investments for over 20 years and then, still as a project manager, of heritage assets for the entire French Community, today the Federation Wallonia-Brussels. She currently heads the architecture unit (Cellule architecture), which develops and manages architecture projects for the Ministry and for local authorities and works to promote and disseminate contemporary architecture for the French-speaking part of Belgium.
She was commissioner of the Belgian pavilion at the 1996 Venice Biennale of Architecture, she co-directs the VISIONS / Architectures publiques collection with Maurizio Cohen, and she publishes Architectures Wallonie-Bruxelles Inventaires every three years in partnership with Wallonie-Bruxelles International. In early 2010, the Cellule architecture launched a practical guide for architectural projects in local communities (Guide pratique des marchés d’architecture): www.marchesdarchitecture.be
Nicolas Hemeleers, City Planner– CityTools – Belgium
Jurist and city planner. Nicolas Hemeleers has worn many different hats overseeing urban renewal programs in Brussels over the past ten years – as a project manager for his urban planning agency CityTools, and as both a municipal (Molenbeek) and regional (office of the urban renewal department) project manager.
Émilie Moreau, City Planner– Apur – France
Educated as a city planner, Émilie Moreau has managed social, societal, and innovation studies at the Paris Urbanism Agency (Apur) since 2016. In conjunction with Apur partners, she conducts urban observation studies and advises on public policy throughout Greater Paris. In 2017, she coordinated an exploratory study of new modes of action in the city in the form of public innovation, temporary urbanism, and citizen initiatives, entitled La Ville Autrement (Another kind of city). Her current work deals with changes in facilities and public services.
With support from the Consulat Général de France à Québec
Carol Bélanger, Architect, AAA, FRAIC, LEED® AP, City Architect, Edmonton – Canada
Carol Belanger holds a master’s degree in architecture from Technical University of Nova Scotia. After 15 years in private practice, he started his career as a senior urban designer in Edmonton’s urban planning department, where he chaired the Edmonton Urban Design Awards in 2005 and 2007. In 2007, he joined the city’s architecture team and took over as City Architect in 2009. In this capacity, he has worked to emphasize the importance of urban and architectural design excellence for the betterment of our living, working, and recreational spaces. Under his leadership, and leveraging Edmonton’s current policies and bylaws, the city has revised its RFQ/RFP process to reflect the required higher design standard. This has institutionalized architectural excellence in the City of Edmonton.