Montreal-based Provencher Roy Architectes has begun restoring and expanding the Ritz-Carlton Montreal.
Inaugurated in 1912, the Ritz-Carlton is the only luxury hotel in Montreal to have survived to the present day without changing vocation. Famous for its façades and its Adam-style interiors, the hotel needed an update to its 130 original rooms and its public spaces.
“The project involved a major contemporary updating of a heritage building,” says Claude Provencher, senior partner in Provencher Roy. “It was quite a challenge to provide the hundred-year-old hotel with a new face without altering its personality. And today, we are proud that we were able to help return the ‘Great Lady’ to its former glory and ensure that it will be with us for many years to come.”
A two-story volume was also to be added on the roof of the historic building. A pool and gym had to be installed at roof level, and a new spa is planned for the basement of the old hotel.
One of the major challenges of the project was to integrate the new residential wing without mimicking or overshadowing the character of the existing building. Provencher Roy opted for a glass-and-steel envelope that evokes the geometry and rhythm of the 1912 façade.

The architects exploited the curtain-wall of the new wing to design apartments. In the old part of the hotel, the rooms were designed to subtly accentuate privacy. The new glass-and-steel structure allows for living spaces that open onto each other.
