Since 2009, DKA’s mission has been to design living environments that are considerate, diverse, and efficient in terms of human, environmental, and economic factors.
The firm stands out for its ability to offer an integrated approach, providing comprehensive urban planning and interior design services in conjunction with their architectural services. The expertise of our professionals in dealing with the challenges of urban development enables us to optimize the social, financial and environmental benefits of a project.
DKA firmly believes in breaking down its own walls, and that challenging oneself must be an integral part of any creative process in order to build a sustainable future.
Éric Desjardins Principal Partner Architect
Sonkham Khamlong Principal Partner Architect
Nicola Cardone Partner Urban Planner
Vincent C. Deslauriers Partner Architect
Virginie Roy Montpellier Partner Architect
Pierre-Olivier Petti Partner Architect
Laurie Laterreur Partner Architect
Now more than ever, society needs idealists.
To inspire.
We also know that building a sustainable future requires being realistic.
To refrain from expiring.
At DKA, we combine idealism and realism. We believe that calculated risk-taking is necessary to better shape our environment. That questioning ourselves must be part of our creative process.
Why?
Because we need to break down our own walls to create space. To let in new perspectives. Because we believe that success comes from blazing your own trail. To stir ideas and break down established disciplines.
Because with engaging solutions, our work process naturally becomes collegial with our clients. Because we firmly believe that all these elements make architecture — our architecture — a field of expertise open to everyone.
Process
Site Survey
Feasibility Studies
Aerial Photos and Videos
Zonage Analysis and Code Compliance
Conceptual Approach Space Planning
Functional Programming
Volumetric Studies
Urban Studies
Explanatory Graphics and Diagrams
PREDESIGN PHASE
SHEMATIC DESIGN PHASE
DESIGN
REVIEW
INTERIOR
Plans
Plans for Permits Construction Documents
Technical Data Sheet Analysis
Shop Drawing Analysis
Site Review
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND FIELD REVIEW
DELIVERY
Distribution and storage centre including headquarters and a store in Mascouche
Budget : 14 M$
- Distribution and storage space : 1 533 m2
- Office space : 300 m2
- Commercial space : 763 m2
- Production space : 119 m2
Groupe SPI
Industrial building Plateau Mont-Royal
Design of an industrial and commercial building at the intersection of Hogan and Rachel streets in the Plateau Mont-Royal district
Budget : 18 M$
Industrial development
The proposed complex is located alongside Innoparc Albatros, an innovative region of Saint-Eustache. The lot of four buildings is designed to be rich from both human and environmental perspectives despite its large storage function. This is reflected in the amenities that enhance the daily experience of the occupants. The quality of built spaces extends to the exterior as well. Whether through infrastructure adaptations promoting active transportation or the integration of vegetated ditches, the physical and mental well-being of individuals is a primary concern. Ultimately, due to its scale, the entire project integrates into its immediate context, emphasizing sustainable development and landscape enhancement. Furthermore, the project is committed to being certified as ready for a carbon-neutral transition.
By developing spaces designed for residents and workers, the project aims for smooth integration in harmony with its environment.
Zone Enseignes
Kanzy Medipharm
Immodev
Dals
Valdi-Tech
Noddem
Vasco
IPConsul
Qué-Mont
Si-Ci Stan
Place Côte-Sud
Groupe Alfa
Coréalis Pharma
Montreal Mini Storage
Vasco
Transit Nord-Plus
Terranueva
St-Elzéar Sawmill
Industrial Building Raymond
Zone Enseignes II
Hydro-Québec Power Station
Toitures V. Perreault
Dental clinic located in Pointe-aux-Trembles including a laboratory, sterilization area, laundry room, kitchen, and offices
Budget : 4,5 M$
Dental clinic Daoust
Inspired by the Aesthetic of the Medical Field, white was the colour of choice for this dental clinic, leaving an impression of lightness and pristine openness.
The space is divided into two distinct sections: a private area for the clinic and a public area for the reception, waiting room, and offices. This division is consistent in the interior spaces, choice of finishes, and the treatment of the exterior facade.
A long white counter extends from the entrance door to the waiting room, supporting the clinic’s fluidity and openness. The use of wood for storage, restroom doors, and the wall adds a warm touch to the waiting area. The laboratory, sterilization area, storage cabinets, and consultation room are located in the centre of the clinic, with treatment rooms around the perimeter, giving them direct access to exterior views. On the top floor, a cafeteria and offices are bathed in natural light.
The floor plan prioritizes circulation axes with a visual breakthrough to the outside, fostering an internal-external relationship. Even from the inside, the access doors to each room are aligned with the windows to maximize the entry of light into the corridor. A garden has also been created at the back of the building. The choice of noble yet durable materials, such as white brick, wood, and ceramic, was made to support the aesthetic.
Firma Rockethammer
F Building Laval
Medical Clinic Ormstown
Harden Tower
Medical Clinic
Medical Clinic Lachute
District 23
Dental Clinic Jarjoura Gagnon Clinic
Medical Clinic Prévost
Caisse Desjardins
Kayali Bugatti
Learning centre for medical research at Montmorency College in Laval
Guy Rocher pavilion
/ Yves Woodrough Architectes / Yelle Maillé et Associés Architectes
School Domaine-VertNord
The Lab-École is a large pioneering project, which proposed a new typology for elementary schools. This project has contributed to the development of current architectural practices in school buildings for the MEQ. (Quebec Ministry of Education)
This building is a single story with carefully designed spaces for stimulation, learning, and relaxation. Each classroom features a flexible, modular sub-classroom that adapts to various activities, allowing children to work with multiple educators rather than just one. These shared teaching zones have their own colour codes on the floor and walls, helping children to claim their space within the large school. Each classroom has a skylight and a window wall to provide natural light for all users. Additionally, the teaching areas have direct access to the outdoor courtyard, designed to introduce biophilia to the users.
Custom wooden slat suspended ceilings control acoustics in the classrooms and the large multipurpose room. The slats, mounted on fabric and insulation, absorb sound and prevent reverberations. The space between the slats is an effective acoustic detail. The school design prioritizes wood in both the structure and finishes, adding warmth to the building. The natural light enhances the use of wood.
A hybrid ventilation system integrated into the fixed furniture directs air to the lower part of the walls, which rises by chimney effect, carrying contaminants before being extracted through the ceiling and evacuated from the classroom. Each classroom also has a CO2 monitor. The classrooms feature radiant heated and cooled floors through a geothermal system. Temperature control anticipates outdoor conditions to ensure optimal indoor comfort.
This project also incorporates strategies to reduce the building’s environmental footprint throughout its lifecycle.
Extension of 12 new classrooms with an additional 4 classes for students with special needs and a gymnasium with amenities. Winner of a Bronze certification at the Grands Prix du Design
: 12 M$
Expansion area : ±2 866m2 on 2 1/2 storeys
: DKA / Yelle Maillé et Associés Architectes
School Saint-René
elementary school of 25 classes in Chambéry,
School Chambéry
Mirabel
Functional and Technical Programming for the construction of a new arena in Sainte-Thérèse
Planned budget : 15 M$
Sainte-Thérèse Arena
The new arena aims to be a distinctive and original architectural landmark while considering its classic institutional surroundings. The concept is inspired by natural elements, namely rock and ice. The duality between these two elements allows the integration and alignment of the building within the existing context.
The main volume, the “block of ice,” is architecturally represented by a minimalist white structure opening onto the sports complex and Lionel-Groulx College. The lowering of the volume on the main facade aims to reduce the massive effect and align with the scale of the built environment on Saint-Louis Street. Subsequently, the “rock” emerges at the base of the large, sleek volume to house the peripheral functions of the new arena. The “rock” is thus represented by a classic material such as natural stone, while the “block of ice” is translated into insulated metal panels, merging modern and classic elements to harmonize with the arena’s context.
Developed in collaboration with the City of Sainte-Thérèse, the preliminary project had to consider all the city’s criteria, including the integration of the new arena into its surroundings, respect for the historical context, community connections, aesthetic and programmatic aspects, and especially energy efficiency, incorporating numerous sustainable development principles.
The project aimed for a design meeting LEED Gold certification standards, although it was not officially certified. The arena project emphasizes social and environmental concerns to ensure its operational efficiency and architectural quality, making it a recognized community and sports hub in the region. Additionally, the strategic placement of the new arena on a previously developed site aligns with an important sustainable development principle: the protection of sensitive sites.
Budget : 2,9 M$
Cégep Saint-Jérôme
Renovation of the Student Services Centre at Cégep de Saint-Jérôme
Collège Montmorency
Petits Pas Daycare
Saint-Michel-Archange School
St-Hippolyte Fire Station
Domaine-Vert-Nord school
Hôtel de Ville
Chambéry School
Polyvalente Sainte-Thérèse highschool
Highschool
Design
Head office DKA
Sainte-Thérèse
The goal of this project was to create a signature boutique for Quilicot while democratizing cycling in all its forms. The space is designed to be flexible and adaptable, integrating the latest digital technologies and offering the variety of a large retail store while maintaining the personal touch of a neighborhood bike shop.
The boutique’s functional program is divided into six areas: the Reception, Workshop, Sales, Meetings, Services, and the Team space located on the mezzanine. The mezzanine includes a locker room, a rest room, a kitchen, and a dining area for employees.
Given the desire to make this space a signature boutique, we focused on creating unique elements. The design of a grid lighting system is one-of-a-kind. This custom lighting highlights the bikes in illuminated boxes, showcasing the boutique like an exhibition hall.
For this project, the creation of custom cabinetry was essential to meet the client’s needs for modular displays and functional storage. The choice of light wood and prepainted perforated black steel was carefully selected to convey the brand’s accessible character. The predominant black colour in the space creates a calming environment while emphasizing the displayed products. The simplicity of the orange-coloured signage also reflects Quilicot’s brand image effectively.
Head office Simon Lussier
Design of Simon Lussier head office in Mirabel
Luncheonette counter design Budget : n/d
Fogo
Caisse Desjardins
Nordik Café
Golf Club Le Blainvillier
À Maison
Cégep Saint-Jérôme
Empora
HUB BST2
Domaine-Vert-Nord School
Hair Shop
Action Sport-Physio
Urban Planning
Centro-Cité
This project is part of the downtown development initiative.
It aims to create a comprehensive, diverse, and inviting living environment for residents and citizens of the area.
Seigneurie de la Gare in Blainville
The Seigneurie de la Gare project is set within a diverse, multi-use neighborhood that is undergoing redevelopment and a reaffirmation of its identity.
This project’s context is a key structuring element, featuring multi-residential and mixed-use buildings. The ultimate goal is to design a highquality living environment that excels in human, economic, and environmental performance.
Located in the heart of a TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) area, the site is accompanied by a metropolitan initiative to develop and densify this prime sector. The proximity to a public transport network is a significant advantage and presents an exceptional opportunity to create a comprehensive living environment centred on people rather than cars.
Designed to meet local and regional densification and development objectives, the project, through its quality, density, and mixed-use nature, addresses the needs of its immediate surroundings. Its impact on both current and new residents will be immediate and positive.
Seigneurie de la gare
Integrated project
Design of an integrated project in Blainville
Le Balt
Integrated housing project in Boisbriand Budget : n/d
LIVING IN A GARDEN
Imagine this site as a large garden. Our goal is thus to maximize its cultivable or usable area. To achieve this, we pushed road infrastructures to the perimeter, leaving a large central garden plot.
Buildings are arranged along this wide green strip to ensure optimal orientation and gradual scaling. Each building has a unique density and typology influenced by its urban surroundings which ultimately allows us to create a natural buffer zone around the project with the existing mature vegetative cover.
Dividing the project into three phases allows us to extend buffer zones into the spaces between phases. The construction of an underground parking lot, which requires a subsoil investment, presents an opportunity to develop the interface between towers within the same phase. This approach enables us to create high-quality collective spaces that combine light and transparency, providing access to the surrounding landscape.
Rosemont housing
Condos de la gare
Lumina
Housing Complex 25e Avenue
Townhouses Boisbriand
Integrated project Blainville
Habitations 19
Calex Papineau
Housing Complex
O Quai du Nord
Habitations Albatros
Townhouses Plateau 3
Housing
Chagall
M3 Habitations
Veridis
Quartier Q7 - TOD
Building on Grande-Côte Luminia
Housing Complex Sainte-Adèle
Single-family homes
Comtois residence
Residence in Terrebonne
Winner of a Silver certification at the Grands Prix du Design
Residence V + M
Residence K
Residence T + H
Lake house Rougeaud
Lake house in Mont-Blanc
Lake house Marcoux
Residence in Dollard-des-Ormeaux
Residence A
Résidence H
Chalet Saint-Côme
Résidence Blainvillier
Résidence K
Résidence A
Chalet MA
Foresta
Foresta Phase II
Foresta Phase III
Résidence H + C
Lab-École Rimouski
FROM WOODED AREA TO MEADOW
Rimouski is a city significantly shaped by the landscape of its territory. Its various neighborhoods unfold on cascading plateaus that blend into the St. Lawrence River shoreline. The site itself features a slight slope oriented towards the estuary. The spatial concept is rooted in transposing this distinctive and striking morphology.
Firstly, the school unfolds according to the site’s topography. Specifically, six half-levels are created to subtly and fluidly articulate the progression of school levels. In this layout, from preschool to 6th grade, the program cascades from the highest levels of the site to the lowest point, mirroring the terrain. Besides emphasizing progression, the program’s topographical arrangement, along with the visual connections created between different school levels, projects the student towards their future, fostering curiosity, exploration, and intellectual and social development. A large forecourt transforms into a public square for social and community activities and provides access to the school’s main entrance.
At the sound of the bell, students are invited on a journey along the edge of the wooded area, entering the transversal axis that constitutes the school’s heart. This three-dimensional agglomeration houses versatile and flexible spaces for dining, cooking, visual arts, music, sports, and a unique locker room accessible from all outdoor areas, thus optimizing circulation and facilitating maintenance. In the form of an atrium, this space brings the landscape into the school and physically connects the wooded area, meadow, vegetable garden, and all levels, creating various atmospheres.
Ramps, walkways, a central staircase with seating, and pathways at different levels punctuate this core of subspaces, encouraging the appropriation of the environment, reminiscent of Rimouski’s plateaus.
The exterior spaces, including courtyards, vegetable gardens, orchards, and rooftop terraces, take various forms and are distributed around the school whilst embracing a balance with nature. These spaces are ultimately aiming to extend the interior environments outdoors, promoting diversity, local food production, and outdoor activities.
Consortium DKA / Atelier Sens
Marieville library
CONCEPTUAL APPROACH
Our architectural vision for the library is deeply connected to its landscape, balancing nature and architectural sensitivity. The building emerges from the site’s geology, creating an omnipresent relationship between Édouard-Crevier Park and the library. We propose a place of convergence between nature and architecture, enhancing the site while creating a universal and welcoming space for the community—an area conducive to meetings, culture, and exchanges among citizens, akin to a church square.
The site naturally supports an elongated building, allowing for the judicious distribution of the two main competition programs: the library and the community hall, on either side of a central space. Positioned around this central area, the various programs offered by the building will be functional and visually balanced.
Serving as the building’s anchor within the community, this central area, designed with material transparency, will create an open connection between the main entrance (the community) and nature (ÉdouardCrevier Park). This transparency invites people inside while providing a strong visual link between the building and the park. This visual connection with nature and the dialogue between interior and exterior will be the project’s architectural hallmark.
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Extending this transparency throughout the building will facilitate a dialogue between nature and the various programs. Programmatic activities are presented on the urban side, while reading and working areas are arranged along a large window offering views of the park. This creates an inviting and warm space, providing high-quality natural light favourable for reading and contemplation of nature.
On the other side of the common hall, the community rooms will allow organizations to use the central space for their activities, becoming a gathering place for the community. The abundant windows in these rooms will also enable activities to extend outside the building into the adjacent park. This entirely public zone will host social and cultural activities, providing a unique space that encourages exchanges among citizens.
Evolo Tower
THE CHALLENGE
The car is omnipresent in our spaces and social structures. Consequently, it becomes an object that pollutes the daily interactions of city dwellers. This reality creates multiple issues on various levels: it affects the environment, demographics, urban planning, and the mobility of large cities.
In Montreal, as in the vast majority of the world’s metropolis, the same problem arises: the congestion of major thoroughfares affects the overall mobility of the system. Like many other large Canadian cities, Montreal has a deficient public transportation network, necessitating a major overhaul to address the car scourge. The new system we propose should not focus on individualistic thinking but rather on a collective movement. In light of the increasing car contamination, an architectural solution must be devised.
THE PROJECT
An analysis of the city’s context identifies numerous hubs based on their traffic concentration and population density. These urban areas are the focal points for the revolution of the current transportation system. In Montreal’s context, ten sites of interest are selected for their proximity to the population and existing metro stations. Each of these will host an autonomous mega-structure managing the new automobile network.
A new urban perimeter is designed: the entire road network is now underground and efficiently controlled by a master computer that responds in real-time to traffic conditions. People wishing to enter the city by car must pass through a gate where traditional chaotic driving is set aside, and a reliable autonomous system takes control.
The operation is quite simple: cars are stabilized on large metal plates, and engines are turned off. Each vehicle then becomes a sort of private wagon; the underground route automatically guides the city dwellers through a journey in its magnetic tunnels and takes them to public transportation stations. After a few quick stops at the stations, the cars are then emptied of their owners. The network then takes the cars to the nearest vertical parking tower. The car owner can then retrieve their vehicle by specifying a pickup time and location.
This tower also operates through magnetism and real-time computerization. The cars gradually arrive on their plates at the underground distribution hubs at the building’s base and are propelled vertically to the ground. The tower’s uniqueness lies in its main structural element being invisible: seven solenoids create a magnetic field that holds the vehicles vertically. The building’s envelope is thus architectonic, formed by its “raison d’être”: the car itself. The tower continually assembles and disassembles through the comings and goings of cars: the architectural form becomes intrinsically dependent on downtown traffic flow.
Vertical parking towers become urban architectural machines, and the car becomes the building block of an endless process of construction and destruction.
Alphonse Desjardins Theater
CONTEST DESCRIPTION
Repentigny is now considered the commercial hub and service center in the county of l’Assomption. The heart of the city is revitalizing and transforming into a modern downtown with large pedestrian spaces, offices, shops, leisure hubs, and green spaces. Repentigny offers its citizens all the services of a large city.
There is significant potential to develop cultural life, but it is limited by the capacity of existing facilities. The Cultural Space project, which will take place in the heart of the city between Île-Lebel and the RobertLussier Library, aims to address this need. Conceived as a true cultural corridor, this unique concept will include a concert hall, an art and artistic creation center, as well as an arboretum and public art garden.
In 2017, the multidisciplinary architectural competition for the performance hall was launched. The project’s mission was to promote active participation by the region’s citizens in a rich and diverse cultural life.
By placing citizens at the center of the mission for Repentigny’s new performance hall, the goal was to envision a venue different from other performance halls, whether in the region or downtown Montreal—a venue primarily for citizens. The new hall was intended to attract a younger audience, a demographic that tends to avoid traditional halls but does not necessarily want to see shows in bars.
