Call for Participation for Interuniversity Community Charrette: Democratizing Access to Water

Architecture Without Borders Québec, with the support of the Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal and the Government of Québec, is launching its first interuniversity community charrette.   Designed outside a competitive framework, this initiative is grounded in a community-based, intersectional, and inclusive approach. This initiative aims to mobilize community and university sectors and the next generation of design students, for the development of innovative ideas involving water as a common good, in response to key challenges facing Montréal.

 

Democratizing Access to Water was selected during the third iteration of the call for proposals - Developing a Stronger Design Culture, Together, in partnership with the UQAM School of Design, the Faculty of Environmental Design at the Université de Montréal, and the School of Urban Planning and Architecture at McGill University, as well as the collectives Dehors de Dehors, Pas de la rue, Le Sac à Dos, L’Anonyme, the Indigenous Support Workers Project, the Plateau-Mont-Royal Community Development Corporation (CDC), and the Faubourg Saint-Laurent Round Table.

 

The project explores the challenges of access to water for everyone in public spaces: drinking, cooling off, personal hygiene, or doing laundry. Beyond the mere functionality of a public service, this project places well-being, dignity, and public health at the heart of the discussion. By considering water as a common good, this charrette aims to promote social inclusion through design, responding to a “thirst for” change and equity.

 

The charrette will take place from May 20 to 22, 2026, at the Université du Québec à Montréal.