Studio
About
Chevalier Morales is a Montreal-based architecture and design firm founded in 2005, operating on both provincial and national levels. Its founders, Stephan Chevalier and Sergio Morales, embrace a contemporary vision of architecture that carries social and environmental responsibility while ensuring a connection to the surrounding context.
Known for their sensible and imaginative approach, Stephan, Sergio, and their team strive to reflect contemporary ambitions and concerns regarding social, cultural, and environmental issues. Committed to innovation, they continually explore new ways to address these challenges in the construction and design of buildings. The firm is driven by a clear commitment to the realities that characterize its time. With a talented team of around fifty collaborators, the firm has established itself as a major contributor to the Canadian architectural landscape.
Chevalier Morales has a diverse portfolio that primarily focuses on culture, higher education, workspaces, and both social and private housing. The firm also offers specialized expertise in restoration and rehabilitation of built heritage.
Recognized by peers and the broader community, Chevalier Morales has been featured in national and international publications and has received numerous accolades, including the 2018 Emerging Architectural Practice Award awarded by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), two Grand Prix from the Ordre des architectes du Québec and two Governor General’s Medals in Architecture from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and several Canadian Architect Awards. Most recently, the firm was a finalist to officially represent Canada at the 18th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. Through the dedication of its partners and team members, Chevalier Morales, actively contributes to both professional architecture and academia, fostering the next generation of ideas through their engagement in higher education.
Vision
Focusing on established and proven architectural practices, team collaboration and rigorous training, Chevalier Morales ensures that the quality of its projects meets the highest standards.
The firm embodies a deep sensibility that permeates various aspects of its work. First, through a genuine commitment to environmental awareness and an acknowledgment of its responsibility to imagine and create spaces that address the realities and challenges faced by future generations; second, through an attention to detail that shows in a contextualized approach to each project, where careful consideration is given to every element; and lastly, through a human-centered sensibility that cultivates teamwork and respect for others in all facets of its work.
Listening is fundamental to the ideation and project realization processes of the firm. By prioritizing listening as a creative ethic, Chevalier Morales engages with its community and strives to build spaces that encourage cultural sharing and exchange. This openness allows it to continuously innovate and provide relevant insights within the architectural field.
Regardless of a project’s size, our vision is guided by a robust set of practices, processes, and expertise, fueled by passion and pride in what we do.
Sustainable vision of the projects
While maximizing the positive impacts of our interventions within a community, our projects are designed to be both environmentally and culturally responsible. We believe in the importance of creating architectural solutions that engage organically with the daily lives of users, spaces, buildings, and the communities they are integrated in.
The projects developed by our team serve as examples of sustainable development tailored to the unique characteristics of their contexts. Our strategies prioritize the reduction of energy, water, and material consumption, as well as minimizing associated transportation needs by employing sustainable construction techniques and materials. Each project is approached with a clear understanding of the potential impacts of operational and maintenance activities, including various costs and technical considerations that emerge upon completion.
In our daily practice, we ensure that our entire team is well-informed about the significant social and environmental issues of our time and is encouraged to integrate a clearly defined social and ecological perspective into their work. We recognize that our responsibility goes beyond fleeting trends and aesthetic choices; it is a fundamental obligation that must be integrated into our practices from the very outset of each project.
Sustainable vision of the team
Situated in the bustling Mile End neighborhood, our studio promotes active transportation and public transit. Our team is deeply committed to social res¬ponsibility, engaging both in the community and wit-hin our operations. We implement policies aimed at minimizing waste of materials, IT resources, and energy, and we strive for a zero-waste approach while forging partnerships with local businesses. Additionally, a dedicated sustainability and social responsibility committee continually seeks to enhance our practices, offering regular internal training to assure ongoing improvement.
Sustainable vision of the website
As part of our reflections on the development of this website, we have prioritized minimizing its carbon footprint to align with our commitment to an eco-responsible practice. The visual content is initially displayed in black and white and in a compressed format, reducing bandwidth usage for loading. Additionally, the website is powered by Quebec’s hydroelectric energy, a green and renewable resource. To further optimize performance, our visual content is hosted on a geographically distributed Content Delivery Network (CDN), minimizing the distance data must travel to reach users.
Team
The Chevalier Morales team is characterized by a dynamic combination of talent, skill, and experience, allowing us to confidently and professionally tackle the diverse responsibilities that architects face throughout a project’s lifecycle. From studies and preliminary designs to architectural and interior design, cost estimation, drafting, technical expertise, BIM management, specification writing, and on-site services, our team consistently delivers excellence.
Carefully cultivated over time through professional and academic collaboration, our team includes intern architects, intermediate architects, project managers, and LEED certified architects, all backed by the extensive expertise of the partners, some of whom have over thirty years of professional experience in the field.
Studio
Our studio is a vibrant, open space where transparency and collaboration thrive. Daily meetings and discussions allow project challenges to surface, promoting a culture of healthy emulation among team members. Partners and architectural project managers are readily available to provide support, working diligently to standardize practices and ensure the quality of all documentation produced by the firm.
In this bright, neutral environment, state-of-the-art technology and spacious white tables coexist with an array of drawings, images, models, and physical samples. These elements keep us grounded in the tangible aspects of our work and inspire ongoing awareness of the built environment. The studio’s layout, details, and materiality serve as a canvas for creativity, discussion, fabrication, and innovation.