Expansion of the headquarters of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)

Studio: BGLA architecture + urban design
Project: Expansion of the headquarters of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux(CSN)
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Year: 2017
Category: Commercial and Mixed Use
Credit: Stéphane Brügger

Realized by the consortium BGLA+NEUF Architects, the expansion project of the CSN headquarters offers a new daily routine aimed at improving the quality of life of users and residents of the neighborhood. Located east of the Jacques-CartierBridge,the head office of the CSN, a brutalist building from the early 80s, wanted to get rid of its heavy and severe image. This image has been transformed through a redevelopment and an expansion boosting the aesthetics of the building and its impact on the neighborhood, while preserving its identity. A large volume of color develops in continuity with the existing building, but more freely, expressing diversity, complementarity and unity. At the heart of the architectural concept is the symbiosis of two volumes, one of wood, the other of steel, blending harmoniously in a vast atrium bathed in natural light. A true metaphor of the public space, at once free, luminous and unifying, this grandiose place acts as a strong link, uniting the existing building with its expansion, as well as the different members of the confederation. The offices are all located at the perimeter of the enlarged volume and around this atrium lined with passageways and crossed bridges. Above the ground floor and the garden level are the common functions: the meeting rooms, the cafeteria, the multifunctional room, the bookshop and the library.