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Montreal’s newest corporate art program: CDP Capital
The newest corporate art program to emerge in Montreal is that of
the Caisse de Dépôt et du Placement du Québec, and their new headquarters is a highly visible symbol
of the changes that are occuring in the city.
Montréal -- Canada's most progressive and multi-cultural city -- is currently
undergoing massive growth and evolution in architecture and design.
Including
the investment in related infrastructure, the city's Quartier International is the largest redevelopment project currently
underway in Canada. Part of that project is CDP Capital’s new headquarters --
the building is home to one of the world's leading fund managers,
and is intended to stimulate the company's performance and growth. The 600,000-square-foot (56,000-square-meter) center brings
together all of CDP's Montréal-area personnel — in real estate, private equity, investment, and advisory subsidiaries.
The CDP Capital Centre building
was designed by a consortium of architects of Gauthier, Daoust Lestage Inc., Faucher Aubertin Brodeur Gauthier, and
Architects Lemay and Associates.
The Centre is significant
for several reasons. While contributing to the redevelopment of Montréal's Quartier
International, the CDP Capital Centre also integrates smoothly with existing buildings, such as the 1950s Bank of Canada,
the 1913 Montréal Herald Building, and the MECO, a prime example of art deco architecture.
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The adjacent Victoria Square has been
restored to its original rectangular configuration and refurbished with fountains, trees, and a pedestrian path. A new public
square, Place Jean‑Paul Riopelle, sits between the Palais des Congrés and the CDP Capital Centre, and includes Jean‑Paul
Riopelle's sculptural fountain, "La Joute."
The two squares are tied together by a walkway through the CDP Capital
Centre. The CDP also creates an underground link between the Square Victoria and Place d'Armes metro stations and also between
the Palais des Congrès and the major downtown hotels.
The
architects designed a "horizontal skyscraper," with public and private spaces
that open to the central "Parquet," a pedestrian route through the building.
The "Parquet" is the center's backbone, a multi-story glass‑walled atrium that horizontally
connects the two city blocks between which the automotive traffic of Saint Alexandre Street still flows.
It is an immense gathering place and an informal relaxation area close to key employee
services such as restaurants, employee lounges, the smoking lounge, and a multipurpose room. The Parquet opens up onto
outdoor terraces and ensures optimal access to daylight. It also serves as a symbolic "window on the world" for CDP.
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| Sculpture by Genevieve Cadieux |
See Back Archive Issues of Focus:
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The interior design for the CDP Capital Centre is dynamic, and materials were
selected with the intention of making the building's interior as bright and open as possible.
Glass walls between office floors and the atrium
promote face‑to‑face communication and ensure maximum daylight. The architects were also interested in using
the latest energy‑efficient technologies, which affected many other architectural choices, including double walls to
optimize energy use and raised flooring to improve airflow. Fritted glass in the atrium reduces overheating due to sun penetration,
thereby stabilizing the indoor temperature.
The 6000-square-foot "Trading Pod" juts out nearly 65 feet over the Parquet at the sixth and
seventh floors. The effect is that of an immense transparent cube virtually floating in space.
Renée Daoust, the building's chief architect explains: "... All together; the purpose of the building, the challenges,
the client goals, and the context, gave birth to a building where the unity of space, the diversity of forms, the abundance
of light, the human presence, the communication, and the technology have been respected in harmony, subtlety, serenity, and
precision... our goal was to create an intelligent, innovative and friendly building."
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| Fountain, "La Joute" by Jean-Paul Riopelle |
The beginning art collection of CDP Capital consists of 151 artworks.
It reflects the company’s position and standing in the world of asset management, in that they have already
adopted a mission statement for the emerging collection -- the creation of a museum quality collection of the highest
order. The
selection of art works is through a special committee that meets four times a year.
This committee of 8 people includes an art advisor and employees.
The collection is budgeted by the CDP in the Service d’Affaires. The CDP does not view the art or collection as a marketing tool -- it is considered an asset for the
people in the building, and reflects the quality of art in the community. The
guidelines and mission statement specify that selections will be made from living artists working in Quebec only.
Because the collection is still new and in the formative stages, it is felt that it is important to build
a relationship between the employees and the art. Therefore a series of educational programs are being planned, which
will include employee tours, and lectures, and an exhibition is planned for the summer in the Atrium, which will include some
of the recent acquisitions. The CDP also publishes an in-house journal, and each
of the new works is described in that publication.
Several works of art were commissioned as part of the government's percent for art program, but
these are not part of the CDP Capital collection. Some of the commissions include:
Yama,
by Irene F. Whittome, created in 2003, and located near the Parquet level, and a photograph/serigraph on glass, steel
and granite created by Genevieve Cadieux, located on the exterior terrace.
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The Humanities Exchange, PO Box 1608, Largo, FL 33779
Tel: 514-935-1228; Fax: 514-935-1299
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