MSDL architectes completes ÉTS student center in montreal

in canada, architecture firm menkès shooner dagenais letourneux (MSDL) has completed a student center at montreal’s l’école de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), a public engineering school. designed to catalyze development in the city’s griffintown district, the design references an icehouse that once stood on the site. the crystal-like volume is intended to be as light, open, and transparent as possible.

a cantilevered truss lifts the grand staircase
all images by stéphane brugger

MSDL architectes has unified ÉTS’ mixed-use program into a singular sculpted volume, with offsets that interact with the more conventional campus buildings. the massing was carved out on its south and east sides to create space for a future park that extends inside the building’s public program. this maximizes available sunlight and offers the community a glazed atrium that showcases student life within.

the student center is located in montreal’s griffintown district

on the street side, the building offers views of the upper functions through a five-storey high image, digitally imprinted onto the glass curtain wall. according to the design team, the image is an abstract representation of the energetic network of ideas on the campus. internally, the atrium is conceived as a landscape that exists in continuity with the exterior park. a cantilevered truss lifts the grand staircase on its south side, offering glimpses of montreal’s city center from the park.

a spiraling promenade weaves through the atrium under a topography made of birch wood slats

a spiraling promenade weaves through the atrium under a topography made of birch wood slats. this inhabited circulation connects multiple zones, with custom furniture and selected seating typologies integrated throughout — providing areas for relaxing, studying, and socializing. a tunnel link allows students to access their residences through a planned bridge to the west.

custom furniture and selected seating typologies are integrated throughout