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As a future repository for PHI’s legacy, PHI Contemporary will be a new and permanent space to consolidate, extend and intersect PHI’s cultural offer, its communities, and the public life of the city.

Located in Old Montreal, and built upon a site rife with history - comprising an assemblage of four historical buildings and an adjacent vacant lot - PHI Contemporary will consolidate the public cultural offer currently housed within PHI Foundation and PHI Centre. The 6 900 m² / 74 000 ft² project will house exhibition spaces, a network of new media galleries, mediation, research and studio spaces, and an expansive public domain.

The projected construction budget is CAN$47,280,000, excluding taxes and inflation.

Architectural interests and challenges

• The project should be conceived as an architectural whole, wherein diversity is celebrated but the design solution is clear and unified;
  
• The architecture must project into the future and consider the next generation of visitors as a key user group;
  
• The project should respond to the site (and its heritage buildings) through both an architectural and urban lens;
  
• The heritage of the site should be understood through its legacies and potential, and the architectural proposal should respond in kind;
  
• The project should celebrate the outdoors and the urban context - through daylighting, views, spaces and access points;
  
• Expansive sustainability considerations should be integral to the design process (and be evident in its final form through the building’s performance, not its appearance).

The international architecture competition will be held in three stages, following an open call for candidature, as follows:

Call for Candidature
International call for candidature
Aug 25 - Oct 14, 2021

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Stage 1: Strategic Proposals
Development of Strategic Proposals by Competitors, selected by the Jury
Nov 22, 2021 - Jan 20, 2022

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Stage 2: Architectural Proposals
Development of Architectural Proposals by five (5) Finalists, selected by the Jury
Feb 14 - Apr 7, 2022

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Stage 3: Completed Proposals & Multidisciplinary Team Dossiers
Development of Completed Proposals and presentation of Multidisciplinary Team dossiers by two (2) Grand Finalists, selected by the Jury
May 9 - June 16, 2022

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Announcement of the Winner
July 15, 2022

Due to limitations of the COVID pandemic, all submissions will be digital, and all activities associated with the competition will be held virtually, unless otherwise noted in the Competition Documents. Should changing conditions permit any adjustment to this plan, advance notice will be provided to all architects participating at that time.

Eligibility

Any Architect who meets the following criteria is eligible to enter the Competition:

• Is a member in good standing of the professional order or national association governing architectural practice in the country in which they operate;
• Has at least 10 years experience practicing architecture;
• Has completed a minimum of two (2) projects in the cultural sphere;
• Has completed at least one (1) project involving the renovation or restoration of heritage buildings.

A consortium is eligible to submit if it demonstrates that it is composed of entities that have completed at least one project together prior to submission.

Remuneration

Participants will be remunerated for stages 1, 2 and 3 of the competition, as follows:

Call for candidature: No fees or remuneration will be issued in connection with the call for candidature stage. 

Stage 1: CAN$65,000 

Stage 2: CAN$200,000 

Stage 3: CAN$75,000 + CAN$75,000 for the multidisciplinary team’s participation in this stage

To stay informed about about public events related to the Competition, please send an email to [email protected]

For press inquiries, please contact Myriam Achard at [email protected]