NEUF architect(e)s launches inter-university program for its 50th anniversary

NEUF architect(e)s has launched Atelier NEUF, a new inter-university collaboration program, to celebrate its 50th anniversary of shaping the collective built environment of Montreal and Canada.

“We are very proud of the thousands of projects completed over the past fifty years, and we are equally proud of the great team we have built.  The firm would have never come this far without the talent of our remarkable staff, and it is thanks to them that we will continue on our path of success for the next half-century,” said Bruno St-Jean, President and Partner, NEUF architect(e)s.

Atelier NEUF is at the heart of the celebrations, creating an opportunity to share NEUF’s expertise with the next generation of architects.  The special collaboration gathers three schools of architecture, with students from McGill University (led by Associate Professor Nik Luka), Université de Montréal (led by Adjunct Professor Alice Covatta), and Université Laval (led by Adjunct Professor Michael Doyle) exploring together a common site in Sweden as testing ground to understand the forces that will shape the cities of tomorrow.

Working in collaboration with specialists from different fields through workshops, lectures, and conferences, this bilingual program opens a dialogue that steps beyond the discipline to engage the city in new ways. NEUF architect(e)s is proud to initiate and support this educational model, which focuses on building a common future. The firm intends to provide support to continue the program in the years to come.

“Organized by three professors attached to each of Québec’s three schools of architecture, Atelier NEUF will provide a platform for exchange for students and professors, with the goal of fostering cultural exchanges and research collaborations between Québec’s three universities and the rest of the world. Young architects will thus learn to think and act globally, and thus improve communication across borders,” says Martin Bressani, Director of the Peter Guo-Hua Fu School of Architecture at McGill University.

To celebrate a half-century of projects and collaborations, the next twelve months will also see time capsules opened and period photographs unearthed. These will be shared through web launches and thematic articles, podcasts, an international studio, and conference programs.