File 7819 - Solominium, Immeuble à usage mixte

cac28/8600

"Solominium I is the first mixed-use urban project in Quebec to be committed to the maximum use of both actively and passively collected solar energy. Contained within the six storey Solominium I, along with office and residential accommodations, is an exhibition space." (source: text written by John Schreiber in "What is Solominium I?") John Schreiber designed and built this revolutionary office and apartment complex over a 15-year period. The building steps back in stages from a west-facing garden facade on St.Marc. The principle entrance is from boul. René Lévesque, beside a sunken courtyard preserving original vegetation. A car elevator was required to meet City parking requirements. The building features many of John Schreiber's design touches including metal "window eyebrows elegant wrought-iron fence details and carefully executed complex paving patterns. Energy efficiency a Schreiber concern decades before its current popularity was attained through the use of heavily insulated exterior walls with reinforced stucco finish and solar heating panels. Colours were carefully chosen to relate to all adjacent and nearby buildings. The originality and genius of this structure were in advance of critical thinking at the time and Heritage Montreal awarded the building a controversial lemon prize". John Schreiber however, considered it to be a badge of honour, and later opened "Galérie Citron" in the lower floor of the building.

1875 boul. René Lévesque Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada