SNC-Lavalin company to design and build new home for Montreal Symphony Orchestra

SNC-Lavalin’s wholly owned Group immobilier Ovation has signed an agreement with the Quebec government to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new concert hall for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

The 2,100 seat concert hall will be located in downtown Montreal, next to the current Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier concert hall of Montreal’s Place des Arts.

The company will be carrying the project in close alliance with the architectural consortium of Diamond & Schmitt Architects and AEdifica. Diamond & Schmitt designed the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, the Detroit Symphony Hall, and is currently working on the Symphony Hall in Denver.

Demolition work at the site is underway and construction is set to begin in mid-August with completion scheduled for the summer of 2011. SNC-Lavalin ProFac, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, will then operate and maintain the concert hall until 2038.

Riadh Ben Aissa, Executive Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin Group, said “The new building will be a state-of-the-art concert hall that will enrich Montreal’s cultural scene and help to further raise its international profile.”

“We are thrilled and honoured to be part of this venture,” said Jack Diamond, Principal Architect, Diamond & Schmitt Architects. “We intend to deliver a concert hall that will stand proud among the world’s finest venues for playing and listening to music.”