+ The design of a hotel within a recently developed commercial, cultural and corporate quarter of suburban Montreal represented an interesting architectural challenge and the opportunity to introduce a durable and significant presence in a constantly evolving environment.
The limited area of the site and the client’s desire to define a distinguished hotel brand that is characterized by its innovative use of space and interior design, led to the development of the 159 room hotel in a 14 floor concrete structure.
The exterior treatment of the building is refined, sophisticated and was developed with a sense of design continuity. It is sophisticated in form, proportion and arrangement of its windows and choice of colours. It’s continuity expressed in the choice of prefabricated concrete for the exterior cladding. Featured on the front and back facades are two suspended gardens affording large views over the nearby Monteregian Hills. The lighting of the facades provides a signal in the night without resorting to commercial signage.
In the interior, the concrete structure is largely exposed: columns in the public spaces, exposed concrete ceilings in the guestrooms and conference centre. Natural light filters abundantly through generous windows particularly in the rooms, where louvers also allow guests to control the intake of ventilation.
The typical room innovates with its unique arrangement and the use of glass and other non-traditional finishes. Warm coloured natural woods and plastic laminates are combined providing solidity and ease of maintenance. The generous public spaces are luminous, filled with stimulating colours and finishes. The lighting schemes of these spaces were as carefully designed to enhance the communication between the ground and second floors.
Every decision in terms of energy consumption was meticulously balanced, from the use of a geothermal heating and cooling system, to a heat exchange and transfer through a heat wheel, to the use of durable low consumption light sources and to the installation of high performance insulating window panes and walls.
The result of a close collaboration with the client, the project dominates its environment with class and character through sophisticated design and a high quality of construction.
For more information:
www.lemaymichaud.com www.dix30.althotels.ca
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