Canadian Architect magazine has announced the recipients of its annual national Awards of Excellence program and has awarded Place des Montréalaises, a public space that honors women who have shaped the city, and Theatre de Verdure, a reimagined performance venue in the heart of Montreal’s La Fontaine Park.

Lauding projects in the design stage, submissions are recognized for architectural design excellence and evaluated on physical form, geographical and contextual response to the site, level of innovation, and exemplary environmental and social awareness.

This year’s awards highlight the firm’s transdisciplinary approach. Lemay brings architects, designers, artists, engineers, and other professionals together at the very start to create meaningful and sustainable spaces for people and the community. This approach encourages collaboration and interaction among all practitioners, breaking down traditional discipline silos to form integrated work teams that deliver coherent and focussed ideas. This way of working encourages the development of solutions that are global, original, and sustainable, ultimately improving the quality of life and enhancing the overall built environment.

Place des Montréalaises - Award of Excellence
For Place des Montréalaises, the winning concept of an international multidisciplinary design competition, Lemay, under the leadership of Chief Design Officer Andrew King, partnered with international artist and academic Angela Silver and SNC-Lavalin. Together with Lemay’s landscape architect Patricia Lussier, they created a public space that merges architecture, landscape design, and art. Connecting Old Montreal to the city’s downtown, space honors 21 Montreal women who have shaped the city. Among them is Ursuline nun and hospital founder Jeanne Mance, Indigenous Radio-Canada producer Myra Cree, and the victims of the December 6 Ecole Polytechnique shooting.

Crossing over the sunken Ville-Marie expressway and concealing several infrastructure systems, an inclined plane connects the two areas. Visitors entering from the north immerse themselves in a forest memorializing Black slave Marie-Joseph Angélique. As the space rises towards the old city, a seemingly floating meadow welcomes visitors. Here, a bouquet of 21 varieties of plants will flower in sequence, constantly evolving in memory of les Montréalaises. In the center, a commemorative staircase serves as a meeting place, while to the northeast, a large polished stainless-steel, mirror-like structure allows visitors to see themselves in the city beyond. The stairs and mirror are artfully inscribed with text based on a strategy developed by Silver.

“Place des Montréalaises embodies what design and art when - converged in meaningful aspirations and delicately collaborative process - can bring to the city. The project amplifies Lemay’s transdisciplinary commitment, leveraging Angela Silver’s nuanced approach to language and inclusion,” says Andrew King, the project’s lead designer and now, four-time Canadian Architect Award recipient.

Theatre de Verdure - Award of Merit
As part of the rehabilitation of La Fontaine Park, the re-designed Theatre de Verdure seamlessly connects with the surrounding landscape. Perched on the water’s edge, the 2,500-seat outdoor arts venue revitalizes the park’s character while remaining sensitive to the site’s heritage footprint. The project includes the reconstruction of the stage set-up and the redesign of the bleachers, public areas, and circulation spaces. With a lightweight structure made from steel, wood, and aluminum, the front, back, and side openings are deliberately designed to conceal the audio-visual equipment.

Lemay’s design enhances the landscape while offering a more open and accessible space for the venue. To create natural links between the theatre and the park, an unassuming entrance welcomes visitors while trails extend into the theatre inviting passersby to rediscover the space unprompted. The surrounding shrubbery thins out to ensure accessibility, while a plant canopy provides intimacy for performances and audiences.

“This recognition is very special for the entire team. Carrying out this project in this unique context was an incredible challenge for all the participants. The conceptual response was articulated in respect of the exceptional setting of the site, but above all in a vast theatrical implementation of a park that is very close to the heart of Montrealers,” says Eric Pelletier, the lead architect for the theatre, design principal at Lemay, and now five-time Canadian Architect award recipient.

Lemay: Creative thinking. Collective value.

Founded in Montreal in 1957 as an architectural practice, Lemay is a leading provider of integrated design services for the built environment. Our team of architects, designers, and other professionals brings client aspirations to life through sensitively designed environments and genuine human connection.

Naturally curious and resourceful, our team activates and defines spaces through design innovation, while our unique Net Positive approach ensures our projects create sustainable value for users and communities. With a rich diversity of experiences and expertise, we believe in embracing constraints and uncovering opportunities to create better-living environments.

At the heart of our commitment, LemayLab is our research and innovation framework. Driven by design leaders Andrew King and Eric Pelletier, it uses applied design research and creativity to solve a wide range of urban and environmental challenges. The result is meaningful, critically resonant work that has won Lemay over 400 awards and mentions.

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