Publications

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Couverture Cahier Amé Tempo

Handbook of Best Practices for Quality of Temporary Street Design Projects in Montréal

This Handbook is designed to inspire and equip professionals involved in the planning, design and implementation of a temporary street design project in Montréal. It is aimed at professionals working for Montréal boroughs and central departments, commercial development corporations, retailer associations, and more broadly at design practitioners mandated to carry out a project. The Handbook is underpinned by observational data gathered over the past years and feedback from a range of stakeholders. It consists of three sections:

1 – Typology of temporary street design in Montréal
2 – Quality Vision: 125 best practices to inspire action
3 – Quality Operation: 70 strategies for taking action

This project was supported by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, under the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal between the City of Montréal and the Government of Québec.

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Cover - Handbook 3 – 35 Exemplary Projects Illustrating Best Practices

Handbook 3 – 35 Exemplary Projects Illustrating Best Practices

The Handbooks of Best Practices for Design and Architecture Quality for Industrial Sites provide concrete solution avenues to inspire action and guide exchanges among companies, promoters and decision-makers. With the Handbooks, the City hopes to prompt greater contributions from industrial projects and sites in implementing the Montréal 2030 Agenda for Quality and Exemplarity in Design and Architecture and delivering on the aspirations stated in the Montréal 2030 Future Vision as well as the City’s other plans and policies, including the City Vision (Projet de ville) and the 2020–2030 Climate Plan. The Handbooks have been developed in collaboration with the firm Lemay, mandated as principal provider responsible for researching and writing the documents. Cover project: Hydro-Québec 315-25 kV De Lorimier, by Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes (image: Adrien Williams)

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Handbook 2

Handbook 2 – Taking Action! Montréal’s Industrial Areas in Transition

The Handbooks of Best Practices for Design and Architecture Quality for Industrial Sites provide concrete solution avenues to inspire action and guide exchanges among companies, promoters and decision-makers. With the Handbooks, the City hopes to prompt greater contributions from industrial projects and sites in implementing the Montréal 2030 Agenda for Quality and Exemplarity in Design and Architecture and delivering on the aspirations stated in the Montréal 2030 Future Vision as well as the City’s other plans and policies, including the City Vision (Projet de ville) and the 2020–2030 Climate Plan. The Handbooks have been developed in collaboration with the firm Lemay, mandated as principal provider responsible for researching and writing the documents. Cover project: McGill University Power Plant, by Les architectes FABG (image: Steve Montpetit)

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Handbook 1

Handbook 1 – 84 Best Practices to Inspire Action

The Handbooks of Best Practices for Design and Architecture Quality for Industrial Sites provide concrete solution avenues to inspire action and guide exchanges among companies, promoters and decision-makers. With the Handbooks, the City hopes to prompt greater contributions from industrial projects and sites in implementing the Montréal 2030 Agenda for Quality and Exemplarity in Design and Architecture and delivering on the aspirations stated in the Montréal 2030 Future Vision as well as the City’s other plans and policies, including the City Vision (Projet de ville) and the 2020–2030 Climate Plan. The Handbooks have been developed in collaboration with the firm Lemay, mandated as principal provider responsible for researching and writing the documents. Cover project: Water intake, Canal de l’Aqueduc, by Smith Vigeant architectes Inc. (image: David Boyer)

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Planning guide resilient retail

Design Guide for Resilient Businesses - Rethinking commercial design after the pandemic

This design guide is the result of “COVIDesign”, an applied, multidisciplinary research project that brought together over 20 hand-picked experts under the supervision of Architecture Without Borders Québec. The guide examines the planning and service design of retail stores, restaurants, and groceries from the perspective of resilience and mitigating the pandemic’s economic, social, and environmental impacts. It is intended for anyone wanting to make informed business-design decisions to implement enduring, high-quality, attractive, and effective solutions that go beyond any temporary health adaptations.

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Guide to use of the Boîte à outils pour mieux informer, délimiter et diriger sur un chantier

Guide to use of the Boîte à outils pour mieux informer, délimiter et diriger sur un chantier (French Only)

The outcome of collaborations between Montréal’s Communications department, its Infrastructure and Roads department and the Bureau du design, the Boîte à outils pour mieux informer, délimiter et diriger sur un chantier (toolkit for better informing, delimiting and directing on worksites) aims to improve the visual and functional quality of spatial planning in the vicinity of worksites in Montréal. The guide to use of the toolkit, available to all city employees since 2019, outlines methods for better informing Montrealers about the nature of work and projects, better delimiting worksite areas, as well as better directing users and making it easier for them to access various services.

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Guide. Réadaptation de services en bibliothèque en temps de pandémie.

Guide. Réadaptation des services en bibliothèque en temps de pandémie. (French Only)

How can the city continue offering services and a quality experience to library users despite the many constraints resulting from the pandemic public health response? Conducted by the Bureau du design as part of the Laboratoire en design de services publics (public services design lab), the exercise was led by service design studio Meilleur monde in collaboration with architect Alexandre Landry and graphic design studio Tagteam. The teams analyzed and adapted the user pathways and indoor layout of three municipal libraries, which enabled production of a best-practices guide shared with the municipal library network.

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Cover UNESCO 2016-2019 Report

2016-2019+ Report / Montréal UNESCO City of Design

This is Montréal's 2016–2019+ interim report to UNESCO for renewal of its City of Design status, submitted on December 15, 2020. Highlighted in this report are three major projects that were completed during this period of consolidation, which has seen us continue to develop municipal design commissions and activities that promote Montréal talents: a new 2018–2020 sector-based action plan for design, Create Montréal, launched in May 2018, the Montréal 2030 Agenda for Quality and Exemplarity in Design and Architecture, adopted by municipal council in December 2019, and the first statistical portrait of Montréal’s design ecosystem, made public in September 2020. The report outlines our action plan for the next four years and summarizes our main achievements and benefits for Montréal being a UNESCO City of Design.

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Couverture Rapport UNESCO 2016-2019+

Rapport d'activité / Montréal Ville UNESCO de design 2016-2019+ (French Only)

Voici le bilan de la Ville de Montréal déposé le 15 décembre 2020 aux fins d’évaluation périodique en vue de la reconduction de son statut de Ville UNESCO de design. Au cœur de ce bilan figurent trois projets majeurs menés à terme durant cette période de consolidation, en marge du développement de la commande municipale et des activités de promotion des talents montréalais : un nouveau plan d’action sectoriel en design 2018-2020 « Créer Montréal » lancé en mai 2018, un premier Agenda montréalais 2030 pour la qualité et l’exemplarité en design et en architecture adopté par le conseil municipal en décembre 2019 et un premier portrait statistique sociodémographique et socioéconomique de l’écosystème du design montréalais rendu public en septembre 2020. Le présent rapport présente un plan d'action pour les quatre prochaines années et fait état des principales réalisations et retombées de cette désignation pour Montréal.

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Vignette Agenda montréalais 2030

Montréal 2030 Agenda

The Agenda is a position statement by the City of Montréal in favour of quality in design and architecture whose objectives address the challenges we face today in the global context of climate emergency. It is a guidance and engagement document whose ultimate purpose is to impart a taste for quality, and for the means to achieve it, in Montréal.
Inspired by the best international policies, the Agenda took shape via a broad-based process of consultation and consensus-building, conducted in 2018 and 2019. It defines guiding principles and relies on all creative disciplines in design and architecture, in conjunction with other areas of expertise such as engineering and urban planning, for successfully navigating the green and social transition. This document was produced by the City of Montréal with input from multiple contributors. (v.1_12-2019)

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Couverture catalogue CODE SOUVENIR MONTREAL 2018-2019

Catalogue CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL 2018-2019 (French version)

This gift item catalogue is intended for institutional and corporate buyers and the general public. The purpose of the catalogue is to encourage buyers to procure products emblematic of Montréal, UNESCO City of Design, as corporate gifts, promotional items and souvenirs.

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''Creating Montréal'' design action plan

2018-2020 ''Create Montréal'' design action plan

The Bureau du design's action plan ''Create Montréal'' is one of the eight action plans included in the 2018-2022 economic development strategy entitled ''Accélérer Montréal'' (accelerating Montréal). It provides investments of $3.8 million spread over five major focuses of intervention, 15 strategies and 47 actions.

''Create Montréal'' design action plan
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Carte Montréal épurée

Report on statistics and economic impacts of professional architectural practice in Montréal (French only)

This report paints a picture of architects in the Montréal region; the economic impacts of Montréal’s private architectural firms in terms of employment, added value, and various taxes; the practice of architecture as it relates to internationalization; and the use of integrated approaches in Montréal.

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Guide d’accompagnement à la tenue d’un panel de design

Guide d’accompagnement à la tenue d’un panel de design (French Only)

The Guide for design panels is a tool developed by the Montréal Bureau du design to ensure qualitative follow-up on a project (development, architecture, or product development) with the support of design experts. The Guide is intended for municipal managers and other parties involved, to help them understand the scope, benefits and keys to success for this process.

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CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL 2016-2017 Catalogue cover

2016-2017 CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL catalogue (French version)

This gift item catalogue is intended for institutional and corporate buyers and the general public.
The purpose of the catalogue is to encourage buyers to procure products emblematic of Montréal, UNESCO City of Design, as corporate gifts, promotional items and souvenirs.

2012-2015 Report / Montréal UNESCO City of Design

The title of UNESCO City of Design is the result of 25 years of hard work. Over the years, Montréal has managed to integrate designers into development plans, by promoting the talent and knowledge of local designers. It taught the public and influential key players involved in urban development the importance of quality design and architecture. All of these actions helped to improve the living conditions in Montréal. The first Montréal UNESCO City of Design report highlights the direct benefits of the actions led with partners, local players and members of the civil society.

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2014-2015 CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL catalogue cover

2014-2015 CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL catalogue (French version)

This gift item catalogue is intended for institutional and corporate buyers and the general public. The purpose of the catalogue is to encourage buyers to procure products emblematic of Montréal, UNESCO City of Design, as corporate gifts, promotional items and souvenirs.

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Covert, Montréal Unesco City of Design in action and by the numbers

Montréal UNESCO City of Design in action and by the numbers, 2006-2012 Report

This document succinctly describes the activities deployed to implement the appointment of Montréal as a UNESCO City of Design. It focuses on the core principle of:
“mobiliz[ing] the different stakeholders of urban development around the project of making [designing, building] a better city with [more] designers.”
What were the concrete results of this rallying statement? Here are the first collected results after four years of activities and six years of involvement in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
This report draws conclusions on the achievements and provides an up-to-date status on the Montréal, UNESCO City of Design initiative. On the following pages you will find detailed information on such aspects as:
- the impact of the initiative on the emergence of a culture of design and architecture competitions in Montréal
- the engagement of various audiences
- the opening of new markets for the design community