Saucier + Perrotte in Venice
The Montreal firm of Saucier + Perrotte Architectes brilliantly represented Canada at the prestigious Venice Biennale in Architecture in 2004. With its powerful creative drive, the firm launched into this adventure not only as the exhibiting architect, but as the producer of the event itself. Considered by the jury when the Lions d’Or were attributed, the exhibition, Found Objects, was a juxtaposition of photos, video and sculpture that shed an instructive and inspiring light on the architects’ research process. Spectators could follow the exploration of "the constantly renewed reading and reconstruction of memory landscapes” by examining models of recent projects done by the firm such as the New College Residences of the University of Toronto, the Gérard-Godin College, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Founded in 1988 by Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte, Saucier + Perrotte Architectes quickly became internationally recognized for designing cultural buildings and today, in addition to cultural projects, the firm undertakes institutional, university and residential projects. Saucier + Perrotte have received over thirty awards and mentions for quality of work and attention to detail. Award-winning buildings include the First Nations Exhibition Pavilion and Garden at the Montreal Botanical Garden, which received an Ordre des architectes du Québec Award of Excellence in Institutional Architecture in 2003, a Governor General Medal in 2002 and a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2000, and the Gérald-Godin College, winner of the Grand Prix d’Excellence from the OAQ in 2002, the OAQ Award of Excellence in Institutional Architecture in 2000 and the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 1999. The Gérald-Godin College designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes and the architectural firm Desnoyers Mercure & Associés.