Vaudreuil-Dorion, Montréal, Canada

Vaudreuil-Dorion, Montréal, Canada

In the last 12 years, the Canadian city of Vaudreuil-Dorion, near Montréal, has experienced a 45 percent population increase. This swift demographic growth now require a new and multifunctional urban centre. For the 2019 architectural competition to address these societal changes, we teamed up with Zaraté Lavigne and presented a finalist proposal that departs from the citizens’ daily come-and-go.

Next to the train station, and in between the residential and commercial centres, the new library and city hall were planned according to net-zero energy standards. The new venue would become people-centric and promote interpersonal meetings – both indoors and outdoors – with an iconic hall as the heart of the structure.

The design is based on a juxtaposition of different axes for different purposes – each one of those marked by a colour, seen in facades and directional signage. It’s inspired by an important cultural reference: the street art painting “Nourrir ses rêves II”. The angled building and its different facades create dynamic impressions, depending on where the building would be gazed from.

Client: The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion
Location: Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC, Canada
Status: Competition, Completed
Visuals: White view

As their paths cross in their everyday lives, so does this multi-use building, whose shape resembles a stylized star.
Vaudreuil-Dorion is known for its diverse people. Creating an urban design that promotes a dynamic flow of people would add to making this centre even more vibrant.
Marie-France Stendahl, architect and head of business development for Canada at White Arkitekter

Vaudreuil-Dorion has been voted one of the best places in the world to raise a family – and White Arkitekter’s proposal makes spaces for children and youngsters front and center in its design. That includes a sleigh slope that comes alive during Winter, when the snow covers the surface. The facilities have been designed to ensure future growth, too, with possibilities of expanding office spaces for the municipality services if such need should arise.

With timber among the proposed materials – most of which to be sourced locally -, the development uses solar panels and no fossil fuel. The multi-use unit is net zero-ready and is also eligible for a LEED certificate.

Designed as a ‘landscape building’, the project features low maintenance aspects that resemble the organic system of a forest, creating smooth transitions between nature and man-made environments. Approximately 95 percent of the building has a view to the exterior.

Gardening and planting beds for fruits and vegetables are included in the venue. Other aspects that also contribute to improves health and wellbeing are the accesses, which prompt visitors and co-workers to exercise.

Contact & Team

Marie-Claude Dubois

Niels de Bruin

Robert Schmitz

Carl Bäckstrand

Jack Johnson

Viktoria Walldin

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