Chevalier Morales’ collaborative project Pre-Occupied Architectures / Prerequisites was selected as one of the four finalists for Canada’s official representation at the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture 2023.
Our project Pre-Occupied Architectures / Prerequisites was selected as one of the finalists for Canada’s official representation at the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture. The project looks at how buildings meet the ground as a shared space with a rich history that is social, cultural, economic, and geopolitical.
Chevalier Morales is among the four finalists of this architectural competition, a project of the Village en chanson de Petite-Vallée aiming at the reconstruction of a new performance hall that will be integrated in a respectful, sensitive and poetic way to the waterfront site of the former Théâtre de la Vieille Forge.
Chevalier Morales has been awarded a 2021 Award of Merit by Canadian Architect magazine for the Val-Martin School project in Laval, which takes a sustainable approach by transforming a former big-box grocery store into a new playful elementary school. Celebrating 54 years, Canadian Architect has since 1967 sponsored an annual national awards program recognizing projects in the design stage.
Founded in 2005 by Stephan Chevalier and Sergio Morales, Chevalier Morales is focused on creating a contemporary architecture that is sensitive and responsible in many ways. They are sensitive to the intrinsic qualities of materials, nuances of light, and spatial subtleties, to intentionally shape the spaces people move within. They are equally attuned to the needs, ideas, and comfort of the individuals who will inhabit their buildings, while at the same time, their designs are responsive towards their communities and contextual environments. Chevalier Morales’ interventions address today’s environmental challenges such as energy waste, pollution, global warming, and depleting drinking water reserves, not through aesthetic trends but rather as a fundamental responsibility.
In this era of information, globalisation, and instantaneity, architectural approaches are vast and varied. Alongside western twentieth century values like multiplicity, timelessness, lightness, speed, and precision that remind the partners of the new millennium1, concepts such as movement, territory and identity are also emphasized. The day to day creative approach envisions the building as a physical intervention that goes beyond its own constructed framework to influence the territory and identity of its individuals and communities. Alike, their work is inspired from a broad understanding of the social, cultural, and economic context of a project to further elicit a critical commentary.
Conscious of being generalists in a construction industry where specialization is increasingly common, Stephan Chevalier and Sergio Morales consider their role as architects to be like that of a conductor, a coordinator, a leader. They gather people around a common social adventure and ensure that the final product has the rigor, consistency and aesthetic qualities sought out at the beginning of the design phase. The way today’s architecture is produced, paired with the conditions of the construction industry, the architect is required to think globally while keeping the final product in mind
1 Italo Calvino, Leçons américaines, 1989
Award of Merit
Canadian Architect
Val-Martin School
Award for Excellence in Architecture and Design – Canada
Design & Build Awards by Build Magazine (United Kingdom)
Governor General’s Medal in Architecture
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and Canada Council for the Arts
Drummondville Library
(with DMA Architects)
Mention of the jury – Award of Excellence – Single-Family Residential Building
Ordre des architectes du Québec
De L’Isle Residence
Quebec Libraries and Archives Architecture Award
Congrès des professionnel.le.s de l’information
Pierrefonds Public Library
(with DMA Architects)
Grand Prix d’excellence
Ordre des architectes du Québec
Drummondville Public Library
(with DMA Architects)
Governor General’s Medal in Architecture
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and Canada Council for the Arts
Maison de la Littérature
Emerging Architectural Practice Award
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Design Award of Excellence – Institutional Projects
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction
Pierrefonds Public Library
(with DMA architects)
Architectural Competition Winner
Agora des Arts of Rouyn-Noranda
Grand Prix d’excellence
Ordre des architectes du Québec
Maison de la Littérature
Award of Excellence in Architecture – Cultural Building
Ordre des architectes du Québec
Maison de la Littérature
Quebec Libraries and Archives Architecture Award
Congress of the Documentary and Archival Communities of Quebec
Maison de la Littérature
Architectural Merit – Municipal Building
Ville de Québec
Maison de la littérature
Award of Excellence – Building Reuse
Quebec Religious Heritage Council
Maison de la Littérature
Award of Excellence in Architecture – Single-Family Residential Building
Ordre des architectes du Québec
Roy-Lawrence Residence
Award of Merit
Wood Design Awards
Roy-Lawrence Residence
Quebec Libraries and Archives Architecture Award – Mention
Table des milieux documentaires et archivistiques du Québec (TAMDAQ)
Saul-Bellow Public Library
Award of Excellence
Canadian Architect
Maison de la Littérature
Award of Merit
Canadian Architect
Pierrefonds Public Library
Architectural Competition Winner
Drummondville Public Library
(with DMA architectes)
Architectural Competition Winner
Pierrefonds Public Library
(with DMA architectes)
Architectural Competition Winner
Modernization and expansion of the Saul-Bellow Public Library
Architectural Competition Winner
Modernization and expansion of the Maison de la Littérature
Exploring Cultural Identities. A Selection of Projects
Laurentian University – McEwen School of Architecture
Sudbury, ON
Education and Emergence of Architects in Canada
POP // CAN // CRIT
Toronto, ON
Design competition process
McGill University – School of Architecture
Montreal, QC
Exploring Cultural Identities. A Selection of Projects
Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Architects
St. John’s, TN
Dix architectes en interférence
Round table at the UQAM School of Design
Montreal, QC
Governor General’s Medals in Architecture – Maison de la littérature of Québec
Presentation at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Winnipeg, MB
Emerging Architectural Practice Award
Festival of Architecture – Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
St John, NB
Références croisées
Exhibition Center, Montréal University
Montreal, QC
Entrer : en interférence, Maison de la littérature
Center of Design, University of Quebec in Montreal
Montreal, QC
Recent Work : Four Competitions / Four Libraries
Carleton University – Azrieli School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Ottawa, ON
Reflet
Laval University – School of Architecture
Quebec, QC
Instantanés d’architecture : Regards sur la Maison de la littérature
Laval University – School of Architecture
Quebec, QC
Perdants magnifiques 2 : Centre de création et de production des 7 doigts de la main
Maison de l’architecture du Québec – MAQ
Montreal, QC
Reflet
The Maison de la littérature of Quebec
Quebec, QC
Projets récents
Montreal University – School of Architecture
Montreal, QC
Live and Design under the snow in Quebec – Roy-Lawrence Residence
Maison de l’architecture du Québec – MAQ
Montreal, QC
Instantanés d’architecture : Projets récents
Laval University – School of Architecture
Quebec, QC
Chevalier Morales architectes : Emerging Firm
Architectural Institute of British Columbia’s Festival of Architecture
Vancouver, BC
Emerging Designers Working in Architecture
Twenty + Change 3
Toronto, ON
Quebec, QC
Calgary, AB
Let’s reinvent the alley ! « Scopophilia »
Maison de l’architecture du Québec – MAQ
Montreal, QC
Finalist Projects – The Maison de la littérature of Quebec
Laval University – School of Architecture
Quebec, QC
Finalist Project – Competition of the Cultural center Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Cultural Center of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Montreal, QC
Finalist Project – Competition of the New Planetarium of Montréal
Montreal, QC
Grande Bibliothèque du Québec
Montreal University – School of Architecture
Montreal, QC
Grande Bibliothèque du Québec
École d’architecture de l’Université de Montréal
Montréal, QC
Dwell. « A Canadian Couple’s Luminous Home Draws from Midcentury Tradition ». Mandi Keighran, 09.04.2021. États-Unis.
Wallpaper*. « Family home reinterprets American midcentury architecture for Montreal ». Ellie Stathaki, 25.02.2021. England.
Architecture & Culture. « Drummondville Public Library ». January 2021, volume 476. South Korea.
Artravel. « Mid-century vibes ». Charlie Leclerc, number 95. France.
Magazine Ligne. « À l’orée de l’eau ». Dave Richard, Winter 2020. Canada.
The Plan. « House of Literature ». International Panorama, volume 1. 07.2020. Italy.
Canadian Architect. « Milky Ways ». Odile Hénault, 06.02.2020. Canada.
Azure. « Chevalier Morales Designs an Audaciously Curvy Library in Quebec ». Stefan Novakovic, 15.01.2020. Canada.
Archiworld. « Drummondville Public Library ». Library and Global School, 297. 2020. South Korea.
Wallpaper*. « Neo-Gothic temple in Quebec recast as ‘House of Literature’ ». Elly Parsons, 19.03.2019. England.
Metropolis. « In Quebec City, an Expansion Reinvigorates an Old Church-Turned-Library ». Rita Lobo, 03.2019. United-States.
Abitare. « Nuova casa per la letteratura canadese ». Elena Franzoia, 007.03.2019. Italy.
World Architects. « House of Literature ». 26.03.2019. Switzerland.
On Diseño. « Un templo para la literatura en Quebec ». 12.2018. Spain.
Les Affaires. « Chevalier Morales architectes : une relève qui mise sur la qualité ». Simon Lord, 27.10.2018. Canada.
AIT. « Literaturhaus. Umnutzung Einer Kirche in Québec von Chevalier Morales ». Annette Weckesser, 09.2018. Germany.
Vanity Fair. « Is Charismatic Québec City the Ultimate Utopia for Bibliophiles? ». Jeff Frenette, 20.08.2018. United-States.