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The latest addition from the Société d'Habitation et de Développement de Montréal (SHDM) to the massive redevelopment project within the Place des Festivals in downtown Montreal is now underway. Îlot Balmoral is set to completely transform a significant portion of the city centre, a capstone to the Quartiers des Spectacles project that is now headed towards completion.
Designed by the Montreal-based Provencher Roy, Îlot Balmoral will be a modern 13-storey glass office tower, with an iconic architectural feature plunged into its main entrance which will be carried out from top to bottom, and accented by red-tinted glass panels.
Covered in a smooth glass curtain wall, Îlot Balmoral will also have the ability to host digital video projections on its exterior. This is a fitting touch for the future home of the National Film Board (NFB), which will be granted a full 25%, or 100,000 square feet of space, of the new structure.
With excavation just now underway, it will be some time yet until the project is complete. In the meantime, recent images from the SHDM website and our Forum highlight the progress made up to this point. Viewed above, the official construction live camera shows the site in action, along with providing a good contextual sense of the larger scale of local redevelopment as it unfolds within the Quartiers des Spectacles. To the left of the Îlot Balmoral, the adjacent Wilder Espace Danse project can be seen quite clearly now that it is moving into its final stages.
Unique among the majority of Montreal projects, the Îlot Balmoral's foundation is being completed via the implementation of a diaphragm wall. Different to the more conventional "Berlin Wall" technique, the poured concrete retaining wall doubles as the foundation for the structure in a process that requires a specialized set of excavation equipment and engineering acumen.
Once complete, likely in late 2017, the Îlot Balmoral will add 280,000 square feet of LEED Gold Standard office space over and above the proposed 100,000 square feet of space reserved for the new NFB headquarters. One of the last in a series of projects now unfolding within the Quartiers des Spectacles, this project will round out the district's impressive redevelopment, helping the area become a premier destination within central Montreal.
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
