Publications

Changing Perceptions Through Participatory Futurism: Circular Economy in Construction

This document summarizes a workshop entitled “Les Matérialistes,” organized to train participants on more circular practices and inform, inspire and strengthen ties between central departments and the boroughs, but also to raise awareness of the role that every individual working for the City can play when it comes to the circular economy.

In February 2025, the Bureau du design, part of Montréal’s Service du développement économique, brought together some 60 people for a participatory futurism workshop on circularity in construction. Designed and facilitated by Jonathan Lapalme (Les Interstices) and inspired by the docu-fiction film Les Matérialistes, the half-day workshop explored what levers and initiatives are needed to make an ambitious vision of circularity a reality. Participants included representatives of 14 municipal departments, around 10 Montréal boroughs and the city of Terrebonne.

Along with basic information about circular economy principles for the construction-renovation-demolition (CRD) sector, the workshop notebook includes a summary of key ideas in the style of a comic book, and links to essential documents as well as a Miro chart that lists all of the ideas noted during the workshop and provides space for people to add new suggestions and continue the conversation.

On top of its unifying effect, the circular economy has unique potential to shrink carbon and material footprints while fostering economic prosperity. Achieving this, however, requires a rethink of a whole host of incentives (e.g., financial, regulatory), of production and supply modes, and of building design and uses. Municipalities are playing a key role in changing perceptions and practice, so that residual construction materials are no longer viewed as waste, but as resources that can be put back into circulation once their initial useful life is over.

A post-workshop survey showed that the engagement created by the event has already prompted participants to structure or implement actions within their department or borough. And everyone was unanimous in saying that they greatly appreciated this constructive gathering of colleagues from all over the city.

This tool guides you through a tested and improved experimental approach to public service design. The aim of this process is to inspire and facilitate the implementation of similar approaches in other libraries and cultural facilities, and thus aim for more resilient public spaces and services.

Explore In Perspectives’ Guide and discover the steps and mindsets to guide designers and professionals towards more inclusive design practices. The purpose of this resource is to address a significant gap in the Montréal design community, i.e. a cultural lag and lack of representation, and to find ways to be more accessible, inclusive, present and inviting for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC).

The guide aims to provide inspiration and tools for development and construction professionals to promote the incorporation of circular strategies into their practices. It outlines the principles of a circular-based construction industry, a number of avenues for action, and various resources provided through the www.constructioncirculaire.com platform created by the CERIEC as part of the final phase of work on its Lab Construction and dedicated to dissemination of the results. The 70 resources available on the platform are the outcome of three years of applied research into various experimental projects in several Québec municipalities. The platform is aimed specifically at architects, engineers and clients.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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)

Scientists have established that with climate change, extreme weather events will become more frequent in the future, including episodes of intense rainfall leading to flooding that is damaging and costly to communities. Implementing adaptive measures may be seen by some as an expensive constraint, but consider the costs of doing nothing. This toolkit shows how rethinking the design of public spaces provides an opportunity to mitigate the impacts of climate change at a lower cost. The first resilient public spaces completed, such as Parc Pierre-Dansereau and the Fleurs-de-Macadam public square, prove that it is possible to seamlessly incorporate stormwater management capabilities into planning and, in so doing, help enhance urban resilience. Project on cover: Place des Fleurs-de-Macadam, by NIPPAYSAGE (image:
NIPPAYSAGE)

Avec les changements climatiques, il est établi que la fréquence des évènements climatiques extrêmes va augmenter, notamment les épisodes de pluies intenses qui provoquent des inondations dommageables et coûteuses pour la collectivité. Mettre en œuvre des mesures d’adaptation peut être perçue comme une contrainte coûteuse, mais quels seraient les coûts de ne rien faire? Cette boîte à outils montre que de concevoir autrement l’aménagement des espaces publics constitue une opportunité de réduire à moindre coût les impacts des changements climatiques. Les premiers espaces publics résilients réalisés, tels que le parc Pierre-Dansereau ou la place publique des Fleurs-de-Macadam, confirment qu’il est possible d’intégrer harmonieusement une fonction de gestion des eaux pluviales dans l’aménagement et ainsi contribuer à améliorer la résilience urbaine. Projet en couverture : Place des Fleurs-de-Macadam, par NIPPAYSAGE (image : NIPPAYSAGE)

The collaborative online game "Quartier Durable" is an awareness-raising tool that helps develop design skills, deconstructs prejudices, and helps people understand the impact of design on the transition and on quality of life. This project was made possible with the financial support of the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal, pursuant to the Entente de développement culturel de Montréal and the Fonds d’initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole. See how the game works and its content.

Drawing on a review of existing literature, the catalogue surveys spatial planning and design at every scale, from the City down to objects. It inventories more than 60 practices grouped into five major categories and illustrated using a variety of inspiring projects. The outcome of an initial year of research, it has been developed to inform and equip stakeholders in the design, community and urban development communities by presenting a portrait of architecture and design practices with the potential to improve the well-being of people in situations of homelessness. This project was made possible with the financial support of the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal, pursuant to the Entente de développement culturel de Montréal and the Fonds d’initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole.

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.

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.

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.

The Guide for design and architecture competitions was developed by the city’s Bureau du design to set out procedures for competitions held by the Ville de Montréal.

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.

Nine international examples to inspire the renewal of public promotion of urban design.

Three effective processes to encourage excellence in urban design: panel, workshop, competition.

21 Montréal projects to get the 21st century off to a good start.