In 2014, after a long process, in 3 competitions organized in parallel by the Montreal Botanical Garden museum institution Space for Life, 3 projects were selected in coincidence with the celebrations of the 375th anniversary of Montreal.
The implementation of two of them did not begin until 2018 with the temporary closure of the Biodôme, and then with that of the insectarium in 2019. The Biodome reopened to visitors in 2020 and the insectarium is scheduled to be completed in June 2021. The third was to reinvent the rose garden set in the Glass Pavilion of the Botanical Garden. The project has already been forgotten, including by the media. It is now to be regretted, as it was designed by Lacaton and Vassal, valiant winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2021. These 3 competitions reinforced the biodiversity pole forming the largest museum complex in the natural sciences in Canada. By launching a series of international competitions, the organizers aimed to reinforce Montreal’s place in a vast planetary movement in favor of biodiversity.

Specifically, the goal was to update or design three museums: the metamorphosis of the Insectarium, the renewal of the Biodôme and the construction of a new glass pavilion at the Botanical Garden. The two-stage competitions called for the creation of living, evolving, permeable and ecological spaces while promoting an immersive experience for visitors. Some thirty teams composed of architects, museologists and immersive space designers f...