From monastery to community neighborhood

The former Franciscan convent at the eastern edge of Montreal’s Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough is a compelling example of how a site once devoted to spiritual retreat and self-sufficiency can become disconnected from its urban surroundings. Its transformation into a vibrant, inclusive community offers a rare opportunity to reconnect its layered past with contemporary needs, bringing together memory, biodiversity, and collective life within a renewed urban fabric.

Echo of the past

Le Couvent de la Résurrection is a convent complex inspired by neo-Gothic monastic architecture. Originally, the built ensemble included the convent, the chapel, and the infirmary. The three wings of the convent, together with the chapel, defined the cloister space. Due to financial constraints, the complex was built in phases between 1914 and 1960, with different architects contributing at different times, using varied styles and construction methods.

Complementing this layered built environment, the site has long supported extensive outdoor use. Activities such as horticulture, walking, and recreation were integral to daily life, reinforcing a strong relationship between architecture and landscape.

Reimagining identity and community

With the departure of the Franciscan order, the site was stripped of its original religious function. Its transformation marks the beginning of a new chapter, reimagining the convent as a living environment rooted in community and ecological values.

A participatory design process involving residents and local stakeholders helped shape the site’s transformation, reinforcing its collective vocation and connection to the surrounding urban fabric. Community input guided key decisions, from preserving historical identity to enhancing ties with the adjacent Boisé des Pères, ensuring community ownership, and embedding a Rosemont identity rooted in history. Feedback emphasized the importance of maintaining a sense of continuity between the convent and the forest, reminiscent of the tree-lined paths that once defined the estate.

A master plan weaving together history and nature

Anchored in the preservation of the convent’s heritage structures, the master plan introduces a mix of social and affordable housing, community spaces, and public amenities open to the local population. Four new buildings are thoughtfully inserted into the site’s interstitial spaces, each with a distinct architectural expression but unified by a cohesive material palette. A careful gradation in building heights from east to west ensures respectful integration into the surrounding neighborhood, allowing for greater density while freeing up green space to support biodiversity and strengthen ecological continuity across the site.

Connected by pedestrian promenades and thematic gardens, the plan fosters ecological stewardship, housing diversity, and social vitality. This approach supports soft urban density and layered experiences immersed in nature, while maintaining visual and spatial connections to the site’s past.

A green refuge within the city

Located next to the Boisé des Pères within a key ecological corridor, the site serves as a rare green refuge in a dense urban area. The redevelopment reinforces this role by preserving mature trees, enhancing green infrastructure, and restoring historic tree alignments to improve shade, microclimate, and the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Through phased implementation, Rooted Renewal becomes not only a place to live, but a model for thoughtful, inclusive urban regeneration and within a connected biodiverse network of open spaces.

Team
Architect and planner: NÓS Architects

Lanscape Architect: Civiliti