The new headquarters of the National Film Board of Canada occupies the last parcel of the Balmoral block, overlooking Place des Festivals in the city?s Quartier des Spectacles.
PROJECT ÃŽlot Balmoral, Montreal, Quebec
ARCHITECT Provencher_Roy
PHOTOS Stéphane Brügger
The new ÃŽlot Balmoral building in downtown Montreal was a long time coming. Designed by Provencher_Roy, it spectacularly completes the redevelopment of a long-abandoned urban block alongside Place des Arts.
Place des Arts? development started in the 1950s as an urban renewal project that completely altered the area?s urban fabric. A 2002 international competition laid out ambitious plans for the Balmoral block, on the west side of the original complex: it was to house a massive cultural and administrative complex including a symphony hall, offices, and theatre and music conservatories. But the project was cancelled, and parts of the site were subsequently redeveloped with the outdoor Place des Festivals (see CA, February 2013) and the renovation and expansion of the Wilder Building (see CA, January 2018). Now, a new thirteen-story office building boldly occupies the block?s last unoccupied space, without overshadowing the already diverse urban ensemble. The para-municipal Société d?habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), owner and developer of the project, successfully attracted the National Film Board (NFB) as the building?s flagship tenant. The NFB was looking to move from its former home, a...