Showcasing Lab-Ecole projects, the schools of tomorrow

The exhibition will feature the winning architectural concepts for five elementary schools to be expanded or built in the province of Quebec. The first Lab-Ecole schools are to open their doors in time for the 2022 school year. To help people to discover these inspiring projects, the travelling exhibition will feature visuals and scale models selected from the winning proposals, including the proposals of Étienne Bernier Architecture (EBA), APPAREIL Architecture and BGLA (Lab-École Saguenay); DMA architects (Lab-École Gatineau); Pelletier de Fontenay and Leclerc architectes (Lab-École Shefford), L'ŒUF and Lapointe Magne et Associés (Lab-École Rimouski), Paquet - Taillefer and Leclerc architectes (Lab-École Maskinongé).The Lab-Ecole team designed concept for the Québec City school.

Fifty years ago first architectural competition dedicated to school buildings took place. The Lab-Ecole’s innovative competition attracted an impressive 160 proposals, testifying to the architecture firms’ immense capacity for analysis and invention in response to an engaging social challenge: the future of elementary schools.

Lab-Ecole set about creating a new generation of schools by bringing together multidisciplinary expertise to imagine the living environment of tomorrow’s schools. The organizations founding members Pierre Thibault (architect), Pierre Lavoie (athlete) and Ricardo Larrivée (entrepreneur) mobilized the knowledge of teachers and the wider community with that of professionals from other fields, in order to create innovate schools that will foster the wellbeing of students and staff in Quebec.

Few words from the team

“It is a huge privilege for the Lab-Ecole to collaborate with GSM in the presentation of Lab-Ecole concepts. The communities hosting a project will be able to discover in detail and make their own the elementary school that is about to be established in their region.” Sarah LeBlanc, Communication Manager, Lab-Ecole

“The exhibition will promote architecture and design to Quebecers, a field we love and value at GSM Project. We too often underestimate the impact of the physical environment on our well-being and the Lab-Ecole project highlights a creative method for ensuring that our society has better projects, whether they are schools or public buildings such as museums. " Geneviève Angio-Morneau, Creative Director, Lead Cultural Sector

Learn more about the Lab-Ecole schools

As part of an exhibition named ‘Devoirs d'architecture’, the winning architectural concepts are currently on display at the UQÀM Design Center, from September 24 to November 22, 2020 (temporarily closed from October 1st to 28th), among the other concepts submitted during the nation-wide design competition. Check COVID health measures before visiting to be safe.