Located in the Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles borough, at the corner of Perras and Rodolphe-Forget boulevards in the Rivière-des-Prairies district, Espace Rivière is a project that brings together in a single building a library, a Maison de la Culture, community and leisure spaces, as well as an Accès Montréal office. It is to be built on the site of the existing library. At this time, the decision as to whether or not to retain this building has not yet been made, and the project design will propose one of the following scenarios:
- Scenario 1: conservation, redevelopment and horizontal expansion of the existing building.
- Scenario 2: conservation, redevelopment and horizontal and vertical extension of the existing building.
- Scenario 3: deconstruction of the existing building and new construction.
Instigated by the city, the borough and local residents, the project aims to compensate for the lack of cultural, leisure and community services infrastructure in the eastern end of Montreal. Espace Rivière is motivated by a genuine sustainable development approach that addresses social, environmental and economic issues, while creating a new neighborhood dynamic.
Espace Rivière is part of the City of Montreal's library renovation, expansion and construction program (RAC).
The various departments will be housed in a seamless fashion, with the premises divided into three sectors and six thematic hubs. The project is designed to promote a mix of services, team synergy and a diversity of uses within the same space.
The creation of this new facility will accompany the urban redevelopment of the Pôle Civique René-Masson, the future Pôle Espace Rivière. This overall project will enable the facility to become a place of identity for the neighborhood, and to forge a special relationship with its landscaped surroundings: the wooded area and the Rivière des Prairies.
(From competition program)
(Unofficial automated translation)
The Jury held detailed discussions on the four proposals and in relation to the six judging criteria set out in the regulations, namely:
- Involvement of the proposal in integrating the vision and the 9 guiding principles of the project: the project must be an innovative living environment for such a municipal facility, it must promote collaboration, encounters, inclusion, participation, equity, accessibility and ownership of the place;
- Project signature: the project's participation in enhancing the site's natural environment according to the three themes supporting the project's vision: nature, the river and hiking; a clear architectural vision enabling the site to become a beacon in the community;
- Respect for the Functional and Technical Program: flexibility, versatility and evolutionary potential of spaces; achievement of program objectives through the proposed spatial organization;
- Quality of proposed engineering solutions: value of proposed solutions in relation to the effort required to build and operate them;
- Measures to achieve LEED v4 Gold and BCZ-Design v2 certification objectives: relevance and effectiveness of means deployed to achieve ecological transition and sustainable development objectives;
- Budgetary feasibility: in relation to the City's budgetary objective and in consideration of the Technical Committee's analyses.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
(Consult the competitors' projects for specific comments from the jury)
Concours d’architecture pluridisciplinaire d’Espace Rivière | Dévoilement des 4 équipes finalistes, Kollectif, 2022
Bolano, Clément, Le concours d’architecture pour l’Espace Rivière est lancé, Journal Métro, 2022
Un concours d’architecture pour le projet Espace Rivière, Gouvernement du Québec, 2022
Un concours d'architecture pour le projet Espace Rivière dans l'arrondissement de Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles, Cision, 2022
RDP-PAT lance un concours d'architecture pour Espace Rivière, EST MÉDIA Montréal, 2022
Le concept architectural pour le futur Espace Rivière dévoilé, Portail Constructo, 2022
Finaliste au concours du centre culturel Espace Rivière, ELEMA - Firme d'ingénieurs en structure, 2022
Teisceira-Lessard, Philippe, Rivière-des-Prairies: La démolition d’une bibliothèque récente est critiquée, La Presse, 2023
Beauchamp, David, Le gagnant du projet architectural Espace Rivière dévoilé, Journal Métro, 2022
La proposition gagnante du projet culturel durable Espace Rivière dévoilée, Voir vert - Le portail du bâtiment durable au Québec, 2022
La Ville de Montréal choisit le concept d'Affleck de la Riva | Coarchitecture pour le futur Espace Rivière, Ville de Montréal - Portail officiel, 2022
Appel de candidatures - Conception d'Espace Rivière dans le quartier de Rivière-des-Prairies, AAPQ Association des architectes paysagistes du Québec, 2022
Beya, Christiane, La Ville de Montreal reveals Espace Rivière design winner, Canadian Architect, 2022
Lancement du concours d’architecture pluridisciplinaire d’Espace Rivière dans le quartier de Rivière-des-Prairies, Kollectif, 2022
Fulcher, Merlin, Espace Rivière, Montréal, The Architects’ Journal, 2022
