• Client :City of Montreal-West
  • Architecture :Blouin Tardif | Coarchitecture architectes Consortium
  • Budget :$ 39.2M

In order to meet the demand of its rapidly changing population, the City of Montreal-West has undertaken a $39.2 million project for the construction of a new sports and recreational centre. The modern, accessible facilities will serve people of all ages, and accommodate the city’s rich recreational programming. They will also make it possible to achieve environmental objectives and fully meet the City’s needs for multifunctional and multigenerational facilities. Equipped with a regulation-sized ice rink, it also includes a gymnasium, two multipurpose rooms, a proshop, a café-restaurant with kitchen as well as offices. Outside, the project includes a 25m swimming pool and a children’s paddling pool.

The project is being carried out in a spirit of sustainable development so that it is resilient to the effects of climate change. In addition, particular attention is paid to universal accessibility in order to provide access to all citizens and users, regardless of their ages or abilities.


Technical challenges :

  • Mixed building made of concrete, steel and timber which requires numerous connection details between the elements
  • CLT roof supported by roof trusses made of steel and Glulam
  • Structural separation of the arena portion from the gymnasium area requiring a seismic joint on the floor and roof
  • Design and specification of the ice rink slab and concrete elements to integrate the refrigeration equipment (tanks, grated walkway, etc.)

Notable solutions and innovations :

  • The trusses supporting the CLT roof are made up of structural steel and glued laminated wood (glulam) elements
  • Since these trusses are located above the ice rink, their geometry was visualized and designed to resemble two hockey sticks.
  • Finally, the trusses are designed to arrive at the construction site in two pieces and assembled there using steel plates joining them at the center of the span