Architectural map of Montreal unfolds Canadian concrete feats
Blue Crow Media continues its celebration of concrete architecture worldwide with its latest photographic map, Concrete Montreal Map / Carte Montréal Béton

As Portland’s cement industry bloomed at the turn of the 1900s and architects became increasingly tired of conventional materials, Montreal became something of a playground for concrete experimentation.
France Vanlaethum, emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Montreal’s School of Design unfolds the city’s love of liquid stone in the Blue Crow Media’s latest architecture map.
Vanlaethum leaves no concrete block left unturned, highlighting the most daring architects to operate within the city between 1913 and 1986. From Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 – the instantly recognisable model community on the Marc-Drouin Quay – to Roger Taillibert’s monolithic Olympic Stadium, constructs of all shapes and sizes are brought into the fold.
Photography by architectural photographer Raphaël Thibodeau accompanies Supergroup Studios’ minimalist map design, emphasising the raw nature of the material with cold washed-out imagery. Teasing shots of the Église Saint-Maurice-de-Duvernay, Silo No. 5 and the futurist Verdun Station inspire city locals and visitors alike to discover every site featured between Angringnon and Nouveau-Rosement.
RELATED STORY
A total of 56 buildings are featured with construction dates, associated firms and locations, creating a comprehensive guide to the city’s brutalist architectural landscape. Concrete Montreal Map / Carte Montréal Béton is the 20th architecture-themed city map published by Blue Crow Media, following recent chartings of Los Angeles, Boston and Berlin. For fans of Australian concrete architecture, Concrete Melbourne Map is out later this summer.
Habitat 67 by Moshe Safdie; David, Barott, Boulva
Place Desjardins by Société La Haye-Ouellet; Longpré, Marchand, Goudreau; Blouin et Blouin; Gauthier, Guité, Roy; Ouellet et Reeves
Verdun station by Jean-Marie Dubé
INFORMATION
Concrete Montreal Map / Carte Montréal Béton, £8, published by Blue Crow Media
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Beach chic: the all-new Citroën Ami gets an acid-tinged, open-air Buggy variant
Citroën have brought a dose of polychromatic playfulness to their new generation Ami microcar, the cult all-ages electric quadricycle that channels the spirit of the 2CV for the modern age
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rosewood Miyakojima: ‘Japan, but not as most people know it’
Rosewood Miyakojima offers a smooth balance of intuitive Japanese ‘omotenashi’ fused with Rosewood’s luxury edge
-
Thrilling, demanding, grotesque and theatrical: what to see at Berlin Gallery Weekend
Berlin Gallery Weekend is back for 2025, and with over 50 galleries taking part, there's lots to see
-
Brutalism’s unsung mecca? The Philippines
Philippine brutalism is an architecture subgenre to be explored and admired; the brains and lens behind visual database Brutalist Pilipinas, Patrick Kasingsing, takes us on a tour
-
The Lighthouse draws on Bauhaus principles to create a new-era workspace campus
The Lighthouse, a Los Angeles office space by Warkentin Associates, brings together Bauhaus, brutalism and contemporary workspace design trends
-
A Medellin house offers art, brutalism and drama
A monumentally brutalist, art-filled Medellin house by architecture studio 5 Sólidos on the Colombian city’s outskirts plays all the angles
-
The best brutalism books to add to your library in 2025
Can’t get enough Kahn? Stan for the Smithsons? These are the tomes for you
-
Brutalist bathrooms that bare all
Brutalist bathrooms: from cooling concrete flooring to volcanic stone basins, dip into the stripped-back aesthetic with these inspiring examples from around the world
-
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapter
Space House, a landmark of brutalist architecture by Richard Seifert & Partners in London’s Covent Garden, is back following a 21st-century redesign by Squire & Partners and developer Seaforth Land
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist past
A new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Soviet brutalist architecture: beyond the genre's striking image
Soviet brutalist architecture offers eye-catching imagery; we delve into the genre’s daring concepts and look beyond its buildings’ photogenic richness