The series Archi branchés, hosted by Marc-André B. Carignan on Canal Savoir, is dedicated to architects and features tours of their latest achievements, as well as municipal stakeholders who contributed to the projects. Episode 3 features the Allez Up indoor climbing gym.
Built around the former silos of the famous Redpath sugar refinery, part of Montréal’s industrial built heritage, Allez Up is the perfect example of a site repurposing and recovery project, which in this case involved a building with strong ties to the history of Sud-Ouest Borough. It is the first facility in the country to offer climbing routes on concrete silos, and saw the light of day thanks to local professionals with an abiding love for the district.
Sylvain Thériault, a planning consultant with Montréal’s urban planning division, explains the challenges inherent in repurposing industrial buildings in the borough, many of which were left abandoned after the closing of the Lachine Canal, once the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in Canada.
Archi branchés is a co-production of AGLA Médias and Bell Local in collaboration with Montréal’s Bureau du design and the Ordre des architectes du Québec.