For her part, Manon Barbe, Ville de Montréal Executive Committee Member responsible for Sports and Recreation, said: “Soccer is constantly growing in popularity in the province of Québec as well as in Montréal, where there are more than 40,000 competitive players. The indoor soccer centre therefore fills a real need. Soccer is an accessible sport, and with this new facility it will remain so year-round.”

And Helen Fotopulos, Executive Committee Member responsible for Culture, Heritage, Design and the Status of Women, noted: “As a UNESCO City of Design, Montréal encourages designers to contribute to the city’s future. I salute the outstanding quality of the artistic and architectural expression seen in the winning concept, which also incorporates best practices in sustainable development.”

A wooden roof atop a glass envelope

The roof of the new soccer centre on the site of the former Miron quarry will call to mind a mineral stratum, eloquently heralding the structure as seen from Avenue Papineau. The volumes of the building will rise like a series of luminous crystals among the trees in the wooded embankment bordering the avenue, lending a human scale to the project to observers in the residential neighbourhood on the other side of Papineau, and inviting citizens to explore the SMEC park.

The centre will include one full-size soccer pitch that can be subdivided into smaller surfaces for seven-a-side play; locker rooms; a fitness and physiotherapy room; an event and restaurant area; and a family rest area. The centre will also house the offices of the Association régionale de soccer Montréal Concordia. Pursuant to Montréal’s policy on sustainable development for municipal buildings, the Ville de Montréal is targeting LEED–NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, New Construction) Gold certification for this exemplary structure.

The jury also awarded a special mention to the firm Éric Pelletier Architectes for its concept, which displayed remarkable functional qualities, placing the user first and creating connections between sports activities and the park.

The total cost of the new soccer centre is $28.3 million, with the Ville de Montréal investing $15.6 million and the governments of Canada and Québec contributing another $12.7 million through the Building Canada Fund – Québec.

Montréal, UNESCO City of Design

The architecture competition received support from the Montréal UNESCO City of Design program, an initiative of the Ville de Montréal Bureau du design and the UNESCO Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design at Université de Montréal. That initiative is funded in equal parts by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, the Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal and the Ville de Montréal.

Sources:
Darren Becker, Press Secretary
Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee
514 872-6412