Migration du Biodome

Location: Montreal, Canada

Client: City of Montreal, Space for Life
Date: 2014 Competition (1st Prize), TBC Completion
Total Area: 2,000m²
Budget: CAD$11 million

Team credits:

AZPML: Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Maider Llaguno-Munitxa, Guillermo Fernandez-Abascal, Manuel Eijo, Pablo de Sola, Estela Arbesu, Davide Macchi

Associate Architects: KANVA in collaboration with NEUF architect(e)s, Bouthillette Parizeau & NCK

Space for Life aims to rethink and revitalize the relationship between mankind and nature, to design a new way to experience and to understand the ecosystems of the Montreal Biodome as part of the city’s 375th anniversary.

The overall strategy of the winning proposal for Migration du Biodome was based on a gesture of insertion within a living habitat. The Biodome transformation is rooted in the principle of sustainable development and the intention of an immersive museum. Creativity, sustainability, relevance and transmission are the core values that guide the regeneration process.

A curved wall wraps each ecosystem like a skin. Sensitive and delicate, both container and contained, the wall serves as a support for multimedia creations, a tool for multi sensory stimuli and a canvas that accompanies visitors through the many pathways and the central hub.

The scheme offers a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach that both integrates with and expands the many existing components of the building to link biodiversity and humanity.