Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent, Montreal

Designed by Saucier + Perotte and HCMA Architecture, the Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent is one of those Montreal buildings that immediately catches your attention. Its architecture is defined by two strong, contrasting features: two angular forms — one prismatic, white and diaphanous, the other darker and stretched horizontally.

As you approach the complex, the two volumes seem almost to float on the horizon. The effect is striking. Rather than presenting itself as a conventional sports facility, the building has a sculptural quality, with its angular forms, contrasting materials and strong geometry giving it a distinctive presence within the surrounding landscape.

For this architectural photography case study, I was particularly interested in how the building reads from the outside — the relationship between the two volumes, the changing perspectives as you move around the site, and the way light interacts with the surfaces and transparency of the structure.

Architectural photography is often about finding the viewpoint that best communicates the architect’s original intentions. With a building like the Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent, that means paying attention not only to the overall form, but also to the details: perspective, proportion, material, texture, reflections, light and shadow.

This was only my first look at the complex, and I’m looking forward to one day returning to photograph the building from its other faces and to explore the interior spaces as well. There is a lot more to discover in the relationship between the architecture, the sports facilities and the people who use the building.

Based in Montreal, I photograph architecture, landscape architecture and the built environment for architects, designers, developers, institutions and publications. I’m available for architectural photography assignments in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and throughout Canada.

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