Chevalier Morales

Chevalier Morales is thrilled to announce that the Mont-Laurier Library project has received a Canadian Architect Award of Merit. These prestigious awards are presented annually, recognizing outstanding architectural achievements in areas such as conceptual, material, and procedural innovation; exemplary sustainability strategies; and support for social justice, reconciliation, equity, and inclusion. This peer recognition is of great importance for the firm’s collaborators, reaffirming the team's ongoing commitment to creating architecture that strives to innovate in how it engages with modern realities in construction and design.

An Innovative Sustainable Concept

The jury appreciated the architect’s structural, spatial, and compositional commitment to an organizing grid. This design approach can be relentless or unremarkable when handled without variation. This project's strategy yields a range of nuanced spaces with different light conditions, offering an alternative to overglazed public spaces.

D’Arcy Jones, Jury Member

Developed in collaboration with Latéral's structural engineers, the innovative reciprocal frame extends the lifespan of the library's wooden structure while offering the flexibility to adapt the building’s layout over time. It includes the potential for complete, planned deconstruction and the reuse of the wood structure. As a result, the project minimizes the intrinsic carbon footprint over time, in alignment with the vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the construction process by repurposing and reusing existing materials. The Mont-Laurier Library is a prime example of sustainable development in Quebec and Canada, demonstrating how architecture can foster ecological responsibility in how we think, build, and inhabit our communities.

Efficiency-focused, the project integrates acoustic, IT, lighting, and fire safety systems within an elevated floor and the wooden structural framework. This strategy, developed in partnership with Pageau Morel, enhances the aesthetic experience of the space and allows the possibility of a reconfiguration of the building's technical systems. Additionally, a displacement ventilation system has been designed and integrated into the floor to ensure high-quality air circulation, providing superior comfort for users.

The Mont-Laurier Library project has also received significant support from the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs through a Wood Construction Innovation Program grant.

To learn more about the project, please visit the City of Mont-Laurier's website and the Canadian Architect website or the project page on our website.