Wood In Architecture Issue 2, 2021

ENGINEERED WOOD
telecommunication connection boxes
including optical fibre.
This media space is also a rental space
made available to Montrealers for events
outside the Grand Prix period.
The building has been designed to
multiply the views on the race track
and, with the development of several
terraces on the second and third floors,
the entire environment of the park that
surrounds it.
The new building, being higher, allows
spectators to have a 360-degree
panoramic view. On one side, a close-up
view of Jean-Doré Beach, the Casino
de Montréal, former Pavilion of France
during Expo 67, as well as the former
Pavilion of Quebec that is adjacent to
it. In the distance, the city of Montreal,
Mount Royal and its cross are also
visible.
On the other side, one can see at first
glance the Olympic pool where groups
of rowers, canoers and dragon boaters
train. Behind is a narrow passage of the
St Lawrence River crossed by freight
boats, followed by the South Shore of
Montreal.
UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY
Accessibility has been completely
redesigned in the new building; the
entire ground floor is on the same
level as the ground and the floors
are accessible via a panoramic
glass elevator located at the east
entrance. Bleachers and bathrooms
are also provided to ensure universal
accessibility and ease of travel.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The structure of the roof is made
up of 1,425m 3 of wood. During its
growth, wood captures CO 2
from the
atmosphere and sequesters it in its
fibre. Hence, this volume of wood
corresponds to the sequestration of
more than 1,000 tons of CO 2
. Wood
is thus considered carbon-negative,
which means that not only does the use
of wood in construction generate low
carbon emissions, but it also helps to
remove additional carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
To limit the heat island effect and rising
temperatures for the spectators, the
roof is waterproofed by an elastomeric
coating covered with white mineral
granules.
Sixty-four square metres of solar
photovoltaic panels on the terrace should
store enough solar energy in one year to
compensate for the energy expenditure
required for the whole building during a
Grand Prix.
LOCAL PRODUCTION
Glue-laminated timber and CLT used for
the beams, as well as CLT for the decking,
come from northern Quebec, Canada.
The precast concrete parts come from a
Quebec company, as are the curtain walls
and the steel structure. The division into
several separate batches of the structure
(concrete, steel and wood) allowed their
simultaneous factory production as well
as their erection in a very limited period
of time and despite a harsh winter. WIA
40 WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE • ISSUE 2 – 2021