Since 1991 the refurbishment of the site of the Moulins (Montreal) contributes to laying the base of an approach which characterises the work of the Daoust Lesage today. This project relies on the potential evocation of existing ruins and the narrative capacity of contemporary interventions. The individual history of the site can then be read in the evocation of the sea wall with the various preserved artefacts, clearing of the canals, recalling the fabric of the buildings and a lighthouse feature evocative of an industrial chimney. A little later in Quebec, the Parliament Hill project re-designates an important traffic axis as well as the Parliament esplanade. The overall plan is intended to consolidate the urban fibre and enhance adjacent areas.

At the end of the 1990s, the Daoust Lesage architects got down to a large scale urban project: The International District. A Montreal urban sector disintegrated in the 1960s because of the Ville-Marie motorway and the existence of many vague landscapes, they reconfigure public places, build underground pedestrian links, recover the motorway and intervene on traffic routes. A new friendly district then emerges. The urban development plan is intended to recreate the links between the old and the new town, appealing to leading edge expertise on urban design, signing, landscape architecture and industrial design.

Erected in the heart of the district the CDP Capital offices stand out for durable development and quality of life. This bridge building strides across the urban motorway with a parking area and underground metro. The designers had countless technical challenges to consolidate the urban fabric. One part of 13 floors, the other of 10, the building fits round an east-west axis called the Parquet, a hyphen between two public places. The nine floor hall synergises 1500 employees and orders all the vertical circulations. An innovating project and exemplary work place, the CDP wanted to keep to the most recent trends in energy efficiency while promoting social communication.  

Recently the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal, one of the most important urban renewal operations in Canada involves significant operations on traffic routes and develops four major public places for holding festivals or other events. One of the challenges of the project was to structure this town centre sector in order to maintain friendly public spaces outside the period of events.

The famous Promenade Samuel-De Champlain was created to give back access to the Saint Lawrence river while revitalising 2.5 km of costal landscape. It ripples delicately in a sequence of atmospheres, going from an infinite vision of the river to a more tactile and sensory experience for the user. The commission favoured a global and multi disciplinary approach. The first concern was to inhibit the traffic system that crossed the sector. The second was to make this huge and intimidating space comfortable. Inspired by the river landscape the development aimed at comfort for the user and enhancing the Saint Lawrence river and subtly evoking its history. Note that the Station des Cageux is an important landmark with its observation tower and interpretation kiosk.

All the large renewal operations of the urban environment discussed here, and others are characterised by the sobriety of the architectural operations. For each project the approach is based on an attentive reading of the historical characteristics, current conditions and the spirit of place in order to formulate works in harmony with the specific character of the site. This approach enhances realisation of projects which while based on proven archetypes present a completely contemporary technique.