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CDP Capital Centre: Architect: Gauthier Daoust Lestage- Faucher Aubertin Brodeur Gauthier Lemay & Associates
Built right in the heart of the International Quarter of Montreal, the Caisse des Dépôts building is actively involved in renewing an area that was run down in the 1960s into a modern and convivial area. The building spans the underpass of a motorway, a parking lot and an underground metro station like a bridge. The presence of an immense glass canopy and several atriums represents an increased degree of difficulty in the structure itself. To overcome this difficulty, a system of steel girders 30 meters long and 5 meters high were installed directly above the highway.
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In the shape of an "Inverted L”, the building is structured around an east-west axis known as the Parquet, a link between two public spaces. This hall, which covers 9 floors, is a meeting place for the 1500 employees, while commanding all vertical movements.
As to the envelope of the building, a curtain wall with a distinct personality uses double walls with windows opening on the side of the office spaces. Its increased thermal resistance, combined with the use of raised floors with atriums – which regulate the temperature throughout the year -, contribute to increasing natural light right into the centre of the office floors. The main energy source for the heating consists of recovering internal heat (generated by people and equipment) which is then transferred mechanically from overheated areas to the coolest areas.
These architectural strategies and these technological innovations enable the CDP Capital Centre to excel in terms of sustainable development and quality of life.
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