WINNER OF A 2019 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF  MERIT
The bus storage and maintenance facility is sunk underground, allowing a park to occupy the large site.
When the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) set out to build a new parking garage, it had a bare-bones design in mind. The 87,000-square-metre building, housing 250 hybrid buses and 600 occupants, was to be a 20-metre-high fortress, occupying two city blocks.
The architects instead proposed to sink the facility down into the site, making it the first completely underground bus depot in North America. Skylights allow natural light to enter the maintenance and parking areas, while the majority of the roof becomes a system of parks and scenic paths that gives back to the neighbourhood. The facility becomes an amenity for the adjacent residential area and extends the Réseau-Vert trail system south of the site. Section
Going underground greatly reduces both the visual impact and noise of the facility. A utilitarian building is transformed into a public space for the community. Atop the park, a circular figure holds administrative offices and a courtyard garden for STM workers. The office?s geometry reflects the shape of the ramps that bring buses around the site and down into the garage. As the most visible part of the facility, the offices have a similar scale to former industrial facilities in the area.
The facility?s four below-grade storeys include a car park, repair and maintenance areas, bus parking, and a leve...