Provencher_Roy’s team behind the Port of Montréal’s Grand Quai project and Eleonore Leclerc, Principal at Stantec Architecture, are finalists in the international Female Frontier Awards: Powered by WAN competition. They are in running for the Team of the Year and Emerging Architect of the Year prizes, respectively.
The Grand Quai project team carried out the rehabilitation of an old pier, and transformed it into a River promenade that serves to extend the Old Port’s linear park. Beginning as a simple modernization mandate, the project has become a daring and compelling initiative that is among the legacies of Montréal’s 375th anniversary.
Sonia Gagné, a partner and architect at Provencher_Roy, led her team and clients to results above and beyond expectations. “Through presenting a design with remarkable aesthetic appeal and innovative refurbishments, Sonia Gagné has become an essential and inspiring role model for emerging architects of the firm: Her work once again attests to the audacity, determination, and listening skills that are often required to produce distinguished projects,” says Provencher_Roy.
Beyond the architectural merit of the project, the firm describes this award as a celebration of “the savvy and audacity of women in architecture, by encouraging them to assume their rightful place in design, management and innovation.”
“The Grand Quai was designed by women in key roles, which undoubtedly influenced project vision and architectural attributes. As a firm that has been promoting internal equality for years, and encouraging emerging female architects and equity in all design fields, it’s a tremendous honour for Provencher_Roy to be among the seven finalists. We also wish to congratulate our esteemed collaborators at NIPPaysage, NCK, ARUP RWDI, CS Design, and of course, our female clients at the Port of Montréal,” says Provencher_Roy.
Eleonore Leclerc, Principal at Stantec Architecture is a registered architect since 2016. The Female Frontier Awards describes how her nuanced understanding of materials and her work in shaping culturally specific, emotionally meaningful spaces continue to inform her design of healthcare, educational, and institutional facilities of all scales—typically with highly complex user interfaces.
“She is the recipient of the 2016 Western Canada leadership training award and, in addition to her personal projects, leads the Vancouver health care studio with responsibilities for staffing, strategic project acquisition, and project leadership support for its health care facility and laboratory designs, which total +/- $300 million in capital cost annually,” reads the Award’s website.
“The material expression of Eleonore’s design sensibility as an architect is rooted in the textural quality of the architecture of old Quebec City where she was born and raised. This appreciation for materials and the means by which they are joined found modern expression for Eleonore at the UBC School of Architecture. Her award-winning work as a graduate student ranged in scale from innovations in cabinet-making to ground-breaking work on affordability in high-value real estate markets,” says the website.
The women-led Grand Quai project team members include:
Sonia Gagné, Partner Architect – Provencher_Roy
Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO – Port of Montréal
Marie-Claude Leroux, Vice-President, Legal and Real Estate Affairs and Corporate Secretary – Port of Montréal
Josée Labelle, Landscape Architect – NIPPAYSAGE
Kimberley Thouin, Structural Engineer – NCK
Li-Anne Sayegh, Engineer – ARUP
Sonia Beaulieu, Project Manager – wind studies and shock absorption – RWDI
Nora Menasria, Engineer – Port of Montréal
Carole Nuttall Environmental Advisor Port of Montreal
Valérie Bier, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Sophie Wilkin, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Krisafie Koulis, Architectural Technician – Provencher_Roy
Mélissa Boisjoli, Architectural Technician – Provencher_Roy
Danielle Dewar, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Marilina Cianci, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Alice Cormier-Cohen, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Camille Laforest, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Chloé Hutchison, Architect – Provencher_Roy
Maryia Kamisarava, Architectural Technician – Provencher_Roy
Sylvie Turcotte – Provencher_Roy
Lucie Bouthillette – Provencher_Roy