The STM awards a first contract for the architectural design of three new Blue line stations

Montréal, November 5, 2019 – Following a public call for tenders, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is announcing that it has selected the architectural firms that will design three of the five stations on the Blue line extension. Two teams from « Lemay Bisson Fortin Architectes en consortium » has been awarded the contract for Anjou and Pie-IX stations, with a unique designer per station, while the firm ACDF Architecture has been awarded the contract for Langelier station. The total value of the contracts is $4.38 million, which covers the first phase of design.

The contracts mainly involve the design of the use and layout of indoor and outdoor public spaces, facades of entrance buildings, all finishes, including the shape of roofs and marquees, as well as volume. They also involve the definition of the structural language and volume of indoor spaces in collaboration with structural engineers.

Unique design of each station
The Montréal métro network is characterized by the unique architecture of each of its stations, and this will remain true for the Blue line extension project, with each station having a distinct designer. This architectural approach was endorsed by the Comité consultatif d’intégration architecturale, urbaine et patrimoniale, which is made up of experts in the field. The committee was established by the STM in spring 2019 to ensure alignment of decisions relating to the design of the Blue line extension project.

As principal contractor, the STM is sensitive to local concerns and aims to carry out the project while ensuring cooperation with stakeholders. Priorities identified include the urban integration of the project and the architectural design of the stations.

Integration of the Envision standard
The STM plans to achieve Envision certification for the Blue line extension. This aligns with the fact that the STM is a responsible company and wishes to offer Montrealers high-quality infrastructure that has been designed and constructed in a way that considers environmental, social and economic criteria. Envision certification requires that the architectural design meets the following criteria: natural light, easy material maintenance, energy efficiency, water reuse, adaptability to weather conditions (flooding, ice, etc.) and climate change as well as greening of infrastructures.

Next steps
The two remaining stations, located at Viau and Lacordaire respectively, are the subject of a separate call for tenders, which will be awarded by the end of 2019. To ensure sound project management, the STM has opted to split the architectural design of the stations into groups. This will allow work on Pie-IX, Anjou and Langelier stations, which present their own specific architectural complexities, to begin sooner. The teams will need to get the project underway quickly so that the STM can present an initial draft of the architectural design of these stations to the public in spring 2020.

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Source : medias@stm.info