Centre Canadien d’Architecture

If you don’t have a PhD in architecture history, go anywhere else. Completely not what a tourist should visit.

The CCA is really wonderful. It’s also free on Thursday nights (I think).
They have great regular programming that is always worthwhile provided that you have an interest in architecture, design, urbanism, etc. Probably not the best for you if you want to visit another dusty museum, filled with a boring permanent collection, with your kids. The CCA is vibrant and ever changing, though you should naturally expect some ‘dryness’ to the exhibits.
The CCA also houses an unbelievable bookstore (entry to the bookstore is free at any time). They carry a humongous selection of titles ranging from architecture, urbanism, photography, graphic design, industrial design, art theory, artists monographs, curating, museology, and more. In addition to their books, they also have a large wall of magazines, many of which you really can’t find elsewhere.
The CCA itself is also a beautiful building to visit on its own accord. In front, they have a large park/​lawn area as well, which is sadly often populated by children and families who may or may not have actually visited the CCA itself. They are missing out.

Un beau lieu très intéressant!
Cependant, je pense qu’il faut avoir un intérêt et des notions d’architecture pour apprécier d’autant plus la visite.

Le fiasco, voilà le mot idéal pour décrire notre visite dans ce lieu qui semblait dès plus enchanteur.
Par une après-​midi de grisaille, à la lecture des avis Unilocal et de la thématique de l’exposition «les environnements virtuels et objets interactifs», mes amis et moi, sommes partis tambour battant dans cet antre de la culture artistique montréalaise.
Quel né fut pas notre désarroi à la découverte des «œuvres» ! Face à nous se dressaient une multitude d’informations pour spécialistes de l’ingénierie robotique.
Bouche baie, nous sommes repartie 5 minutes après notre entrée !

Growing up driving from downtown out to the West Island we always wondered about the sculpture garden that looms with disconnected architectural detail, beautifully lit at night beside the highway. I had picnics in the CCA sculpture garden before I ever stepped foot inside, and this si still one of my favourite places in town to dine outside. In the past years the CCA has made a concerted effort to do events that connect with the arts community here in Montréal so now it’s common to see a pack of friends making their way through the strange gate and parking expanse to get in the doors that look like a back exit in order to drink the free wine and shmooze to the tunes at the regular vernissages held here.
Empty your glass then go explore the show — sometimes a bit dry if you’re in party mode — but a real attempt is being made here to exhibit ways of thinking about built spaces, city life and the designs we inhabit and the ways generations of people and cultures have thought about how the world should be shaped.
The library is lovely, and the reading rooms are dreamy too.

Le Centre canadien d’architecture ou CCA est un de mes musées favoris à Montréal!!! C’est un des moins connus, mais définitivement un des plus solides.
D’abord, ses collections et expositions sont géniales. Le musée a couvert des centaines de thèmes depuis sa création en 1979, que ce soit des croquis d’architecture, l’aéronautique, le développement urabain, l’archéologie numérique ou des expositions sur le patrimoine urbain de Montréal (et j’en passé!). C’est aussi un centre de recherché avec une bibilothèque impressionnante pour ceux qui aimeraient apprendre davantage sur l’architecture et le design.
J’aime aussi que les membres et personnes impliqués avec le CCA sont énormément investis dans le maintient du patrimoine urbain de Montréal et sont très présents dans les travaux de rehaussement des quartiers environnants. Ils ont d’ailleur joué un rôle important dans le redéveloppement du village Shaughnessy («ghotto Concordia»).
Mais ce que j’aime encore plus du musée c’est son jardin et sa cour arrière où j’ai passé plusieurs journées à lire et piqué-​niquer. C’est comme un oasis dans le centre-​ville!
Bref, si vous né connaissez pas déjà, je vous suggère fortement de le visiter :)

I had seen the Canadian Centre for Architecture in the AAA/​CAA book as well as other tourist guides. I was really interested in going. The idea of a center that contained the architectural legacy of a fascinating neighboring country like Canada seemed like it would be a Montréal highlight.
It was several years ago that I apportioned a part of the day and went over there. I walked in and the lady at the reception /​pay area halted my enthusiasm. I asked if it was a museum with exhibits of drawings, models, and historical narratives of major Canadian buildings and she indicated that not much was going on at the time. In fact, I think she let me look around for free to see if I was interested in going in. It seemed very empty, although there was a bookstore. And, given that it was a bookstore in a museum, do you think the books would be reasonably, or even normally, priced? Hardly.
The few stars are given because it is a very nice building, especially the «newer» addition, it has nice grounds, and it sits hidden in a canyon among some of Montréal’s best grade of high-​rise office space, a few blocks from the Metro.
To me, a museum such as this should be FULL of things to look at, causing one to spend some 2 to 4 hours in there. It should have a substantial permanent exhibit and a rotating exhibit space. Maybe it does now. But, given what I experienced when I went there, I have never returned to this venue on any trip to Montréal.

Un endroit incontournable pour tout amateur d’architecture !

This was a beautiful museum. & it doesn’t feel like a museum, the spaces are intimate & feel more like a smaller art gallery. The exhibits we saw included photography, building models, sketches, ground plans, & video presentations. The surrounding grounds are well-​groomed & the architecture of the building itself is well laid out.
((Free wi-​fi.))
The gift shop /​book store was a wealth of resources. You could go coffee-​table-​book-​CRAZY in there if left to your own devices. Which luckily, since we were traveling in a pair — we had to remind ourselves of the carry-​on luggage weight limits.

The CCA is truly a treasure in Montréal that I proudly live close to and has been my «get-​away» spot since I was very young. I’m not sure that it gets the attention it deserves.
The exhibition here is great and ever-​changing, it’s cheap, sometimes free, and studies the various forms and cultural roots of architecture, ranging between geography, design, the environment, and more. When a new exhibit opens, they throw a fantastic vernissage that is enjoyable for all; music, drinks, and interesting people all around.
Now, for my favourite part — the «Arch-​Park.» Earlier I mentioned that this place has always been my get-​away spot. Whether it was for a picnic, to take my dog somewhere quiet and not rowdy, or to simply relax alone or with friends under the Montréal summer sun — the Arch-​Park has always quenched my thirst. It is beautiful, not too big, doesn’t get too packed, and is under great care.
There is a large green-​patch next to the entrance of the Centre where many people will enjoy a picnic, take their lunch break at, and often you will find a few well-​trained dogs running around. It is enclosed by green bushes and trees, with two entrances that can serve as a small seating area too. On the other side of the museum (across Renee-​Levesque), you will find the other half of the park, where many people sometimes play frisbee, hangout, go for a tan, take their dog, as well as enjoy a picnic with friends (of course, this can be done on either side). Here, you can sit on the grass or sit on the cement barricade that overlooks the highway and the rest of Montréal. There are a few interesting structures laid out across this side of the Arch-​Park — a chair in the sky, a few podiums dispersed across the stone rubble, and what seems to me as a part of a broken down castle entwined by a vertical garden of organic ecological art that consists of plants trailing across the walls (albeit very small; with an emphasis on ‘part of’). On this side too, at night, there are a few spotlights beaming from under the rubble, just by the podiums, which give off a Michael Jackson «Billie-​Jean» vibe.
Sounds magical, huh?

Je suis allée à ce musée à quelques reprises pour différents vernissages, conférences et événements publiques. À chaque fois j’ai bien aimé mon expérience et l’endroit comme tel est très joli. Il y a plusieurs salles et je pense qu’il est possible de louer certaines parties du musée pour des événements spéciaux. Les jeudis soirs, l’admission est gratuite à partir de 17h30 si ma mémoiré est bonne. De plus, la librairie est géniale pour ceux qui sont fans de design et d’architecture.

one of North America’s première museums devoted to architecture and the built environment – FREE film screenings on Thursday nights from time to time – great bookstore

Free on Thursday nights from 5:30pm — 9:00pm. Why wouldn’t you go?
It’s a lovely little museum with a coat check on the first floor at the entrance and exhibits on the second floor. A permanent display of construction toys greets you on arrival at the top of the stairs. Bathrooms and auditorium to the right, exhibit to your left.
The current exhibit is called, «Journeys» and is a social study of how migration of peoples can impact the environment. From simple ideas like how a new immigrant group creates new needs in housing and stores within a community to a town along the St. Laurent river getting flooded and having to move a further downstream and the opportunity for urban planning. Written explanations in French and English. Mixture of photos, drafting, books, and videos.