canadian architect 12/14
16 Based in Montreal, Atelier TAG is a small practice founded in 1997 by Manon Asselin and Katsuhiro Yamazaki. Since its inception, the studio has worked to reinterpret the civic function of architecture through the careful study of sociocultural contexts within which a given program operates, in order to create meaningful spaces. TAG’s growing body of work has allowed it to develop a design methodology focused on building technique and materiality. The work of the studio is a quest for simplicity, where built space, through the calculated play of light and materiality, embodies the physical, cultural and poetic function of architecture. In recent years, TAG has been awarded three Governor General’s medals and the prestigious Prix de Rome in Architecture by the Canada Council for the Arts. In parallel to her practice, Manon Asselin is also a professor of architecture at the Université de Montréal. Established in 1958, Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes has acquired a reputation for excellence in all aspects of construction and design, pursuing the approach to quality initiated by its founding partners. The firm has been involved in the realization of numerous award-winning projects including the Pavillon pour la Paix du Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, the Bibliothèque Raymond-Lévesque in Saint-Hubert, the Longueuil campus of the Université de Sherbrooke, the Salle de spectacle DolbeauMistassini and the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne. Left to right, top to bottom: Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki, Pawel Karwowski, Cédric Langevin, Jason Treherne, Simon Robichaud, Catherine Gagnon, Nicolas Ranger.
Chevalier Morales Architects is a young Montreal-based architectural firm founded in 2014 by Stephan Chevalier and Sergio Morales. After having worked several years for some of the most renowned firms in the country, the two principals decided to join their efforts to promote their personal approach to architecture. Based on multiple, thorough and creative readings of the physical, historical and cultural contexts of the project itself, their investigations are mainly dedicated to extracting the full creative potential of each architectural opportunity. Literature, cinema, and Calvino’s values for the new millennium—lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility and multiplicity—can also be seen as recurrent sources of inspiration at the heart of the creative collaboration. The agency has now more than 10 full-time employees and numerous collaborators. With several cultural projects at the design stage or currently under construction throughout Quebec, Chevalier Morales Architects has distinguished itself in numerous architectural design competitions sponsored by the Ordre des Architectes du Québec and by the City of Montreal’s Design Office, winning the Bibliothèque Saul-Bellow, Maison de la Littérature de l’Institut Canadien de Québec, and the new Bibliothèque de Pierrefonds.
Established in 1957, the architectural firm of DMA has developed expertise and proficiency in pre-project planning analyses. The firm is respected for its extensive knowledge of building envelope science and technology, and experience in developing program solutions to institutional functions, building codes and regulations, compliance analyses, construction standards, and contractual documentation and framework support for the parties involved in the construction process. The size of the firm allows it to meet tight project schedules and accommodate project implementation phasing strategies, applying its unique set of skills to interventions made in existing historic structures to efficiently conserve and reveal our architectural heritage. Left to right: Sergio Morales, Colin J. Hanley, François Lemoine, Geneviève Riopel, Catherine St-Marseille, Stephan Chevalier, Simon Barrette, Julie Rondeau, Alexandre Massé, Christine Giguère.