PHI is pleased to announce the launch of an international architectural competition for the design of PHI Contemporary - a cultural institution in Montreal, dedicated to exploring the contemporary through public engagement with art and culture. 

Founded by cultural protagonist, Phoebe Greenberg, in 2007, PHI is an ever-evolving cultural infrastructure dedicated to supporting art and artists probing key agendas of our times, and the mutual - and radical - accessibility between them and the public.

As a future repository for PHI’s legacy, PHI Contemporary will be a new and permanent space to consolidate, extend, and intersect PHI’s cultural offer, its communities, and the public life of the city.

Located in Old Montreal, and built upon a site rife with history - comprising an assemblage of four historical buildings and an adjacent vacant lot - PHI Contemporary will consolidate the public cultural offer currently housed within PHI Foundation and PHI Centre. The 6,900 m² / 74,000 ft² project will house exhibition spaces, a network of new media galleries, mediation, research and studio spaces, and an expansive public domain.

The projected construction budget is CAN$47,280,000, excluding taxes and inflation.

Competition Process & Schedule

The international architecture competition will be held in three stages, following an open call for candidature, as follows:

Call for Candidature

International call for candidature 

Aug 25 - Oct 14, 2021

Key deliverables: 

• A Candidate Dossier, including a portfolio of five completed projects
• Three visual narratives, each composed of a sequence of ten collected images
• One free form presentation board (A3 or tabloid) that conceptually positions the PHI Contemporary project in terms of its key potentials (cultural, spatial, urban, institutional, or otherwise)

Stage 1: Strategic Proposals

Development of Strategic Proposals by ten competitors, selected by the Jury 

Nov 22, 2021 - Jan 20, 2022

Key deliverables: 

• Two presentation boards (A1)  presenting spatial strategies developed on the basis of the conceptual approach and identified potentials of the PHI Contemporary project
• Video (2 minutes maximum)

Stage 2: Architectural Proposals

Development of Architectural Proposals by five finalists, selected by the Jury

Feb 14 - Apr 7, 2022

Key deliverables: 

• Six presentation boards (2xA1, 4xA0) describing the architectural concept and illustrating its evolution from articulated strategies and conceptual approach through to its eventual design development
• Video (three minutes maximum)
• Program area table
• Visual material for the Jury presentation and discussion

Stage 3: Completed Proposals & Multidisciplinary Team Dossiers

Development of Completed Proposals and presentation of Multidisciplinary Team dossiers by two grand finalists, selected by the Jury

May 9 - Jun 16, 2022

Key deliverables: 

• A Multidisciplinary Team Dossier
• One free form presentation board (A0) demonstrating the development of the Architectural Proposal through the contribution of multidisciplinary expertise
• Construction budget estimate
• Visual material for the Jury presentation and discussion

Announcement of the Winner

July 15, 2022

Eligibility

The objective of the Competition is to select the lead architect for the realization of PHI Contemporary on the basis of the quality of their design concept, design approach, and multidisciplinary team.

Any Architect who meets the following criteria is eligible to enter the Competition:

• Is a member in good standing of the professional order or national association governing architectural practice in the country in which they operate

• Has at least ten years experience practicing architecture

• Has completed a minimum of two projects in the cultural sphere

• Has completed at least one project involving the renovation or restoration of heritage buildings

• A consortium is eligible to submit if it demonstrates that it is composed of entities that have completed at least one project together prior to submission

Remuneration

Participants will be remunerated for stages 1, 2, and 3 of the competition, as follows:

Call for candidature: No fees or remuneration will be issued in connection with the call for candidature stage.

Stage 1: CAN$65,000

Stage 2: CAN$200,000

Stage 3: CAN$75,000 + CAN$75,000 for the multidisciplinary team’s participation in this stage

Jury

Amale Andraos, Architect 

Dean and Professor, Columbia GSAPP; Principal WORKac 

Elizabeth Diller, Architect

Professor, Princeton University School of Architecture; Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Miles Greenberg, Artist

Phoebe Greenberg

Founder and CCO, PHI

Jacques Lachapelle, Architect 

Professor, Université de Montréal School of Architecture

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Architect, Curator

Founding partner, 2050+

Jean-Michel Othoniel, Artist

Dan Stubbergaard, Architect

Founder, Cobe

About PHI

Mission:
To engage with the most relevant ideas of our time through art and culture

Vision:
To become a critical reference for the presentation and production of meaningful experiences with art and culture

Founded by cultural protagonist, Phoebe Greenberg, in 2007, PHI is an ever-evolving cultural infrastructure dedicated to supporting art and artists probing key agendas of our times, and the mutual - and radical - accessibility between them and the public.

Its constituent entities: PHI Foundation, PHI Centre, and PHI Studio span and engage multiple disciplines, multiple mediums, and multiple modes of public presentation, tethered by a common commitment to vanguard thinking and ideas; a responsiveness to the contemporary condition; and a probing sense of ‘human-ness’ at their core.

Disciplines include:

art, music, film, dance, performance art, culinary art, and more

Mediums include:

painting, sculpture, performance, social activation, immersive/interactive technologies (XR), and more

Modes of presentation include:

exhibitions, performances, screenings, talks, and more

Programs include:

education, mediation, residencies, and more