The Maison du développement durable is a model 5-story commercial building in the heart of Montréal’s Quartier des spectacles. While a major challenge, Pasquin St-Jean was able to ingeniously harmonize the structural elements with economic efficiency, social equity and environmental integrity in order to obtain LEED certification. “The technical design also presented its own set of challenges. We had to reconcile the architectural needs for space and clearance, the mechanical imperatives of the entire energy recovery system, the seismic resistance considerations, the site’s constraints and the budget”, said Normand Leboeuf, project engineer at Pasquin St-Jean. With this project, Équiterre has created a sustainable construction design model, having received LEED NC Platinum certification for the building, the highest certification given by the Canada Green Building Council.

The AGF Group head office project involved renovating two existing buildings and designing a new structure to connect the buildings, made of cross-laminated wood panels. The project demonstrates the full potential of the panels as structural components, both vertically and horizontally, to resist gravity loads and lateral loads. The exposed wood panels and the use of glass in the facade resulted in a very pleasant workspace with an abundance of natural light. This type of construction, a first in eastern North America, demonstrates wood’s potential in our market.

Pasquin St-Jean, subsidiary of Roche Ltd, Consulting Group has once again managed to stand out, thanks to its creative team and innovative projects. Congratulations!