A glimpse into some of Montreal and Quebec City's most interesting new buildings

Four Quebec buildings are among 12 across the country that have been honoured for their outstanding design.

Governor General's Medals in Architecture are given out every two years and are decided by members of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.

The designs are described as "not being afraid to break with convention," according to Simon Brault, director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts.

The winners were selected by a five-member jury. Here are the Quebec winners and what the jury said was most striking about the architecture.

Maison de la littérature

Architects: Chevalier Morales Architectes

Located in Quebec City, at 40 Rue Saint-Stanislas, this public library doubles as a space where artists and writers can create. It's situated in the former Wesley Church in Old Québec.

Jury: By finishing everything uniformly in white, the structure of the historic architectural elements is brought forward.…The  jury carefully deliberated over the radical  approach taken to the historic church; the final structure evokes rather than restores the past. However, this re-invention offers a new spatial identity for an abandoned church.

Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent

Architects: Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA

Located between Émile  Legault School and the Raymond  Bourque Arena in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent (2385 Thimens Blvd.) this sports complex features two angular objects, a green roof and a colourful staircase.

Jury: This project is distinctively stark and austere.The strategic manipulation of what is essentially two huge boxes and the ground-level glazing generate a dynamic tension that is palpable as one approaches the building and walks through it.…The  architecture takes the human activities inside and transforms them into an abstraction of strength and energy.

Stade de Soccer de Montréal

Architects: Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA

The new soccer stadium, located at 9235 Papineau Ave., was built on a site that used to be a quarry, and then a dumping site. As an homage to its history, the stadium features a layer of mineral rocks in the ground.

Jury: This suburban soccer stadium is a powerful expression of athletic activity and energy as well a strong homage to the geology of its site.…The dramatic roofline becomes the identity of the project…The stadium's positioning on the berm gives it a heroic presence and celebrates it as a civic landmark.

Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace

Architects: Atelier TAG and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte Architectes in consortium

This is one of five pavilions of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Located in downtown Montreal at 2085 Bishop Street, the opening of the Pavilion for Peace in 2017 kicked off Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations. It contains 750 works of art.

Jury: The  Pavilion  for Peace  beautifully and  effectively fulfills  its purpose of providing  visitors with galleries, an  all-in-one stairway, corridor, and linear public living room that winds its way up to the building.…The building is a sensitive insertion into the urban fabric with a jogged façade that addresses the  scale of the adjacent historic houses. The cool, abstract glass-and-aluminum palette of the exterior is balanced with the warm, natural wood of the interior.…Visible from a block away and transforming into an illuminated lantern at night, the pavilion offers a transparent and welcoming transition from the gallery to the city.

12 winners

The other 2018 Medal of Architecture winners are:

• Audain Art Museum, Whistler, B.C. (Patkau Architects).
• Borden Park Pavilion, Edmonton, Alta. (gh3).
• Casey House, Toronto, Ont. (Hariri Pontarini Architects).
• Fort McMurray International Airport, Fort McMurray, Alta. (Office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers).
• Fort York Visitor Centre, Toronto, Ont. (joint venture between Patkau Architects and Kearns Mancini Architects).
• Parallelogram House, East St. Paul, Man. (5468796 Architecture).
• Rabbit Snare Gorge, Inverness, N.S. (Omar Gandhi Architect and Design Base 8 (NYC)).
• Two Hulls House, Port Mouton, N.S. (MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects).