Place Banque Nationale – Defying gravity and the pandemic
Montreal's skyline has a new icon: the headquarters of Banque Nationale. Its striking, multi-plane contoured façade combines boldness with elegance, exemplifying 21st-century architecture. Built to the highest standards of sustainable construction, this new landmark is innovative inside and out, with our state-of-the-art interior mobility solutions matching the stunning exterior.
Project highlights
Place Banque Nationale is a project that has a lot to shout about. Standing 200 meters tall in the heart of Montreal's downtown business district, the brand new 40-floor building was one of the biggest construction projects in Canada this century.
While its 100,000 square meters of office space can accommodate up to 11,000 of the bank’s employees, the building offers much more: a two-level cafeteria, a daycare center, a fitness center, 400 bicycle parking spaces, 80 electric vehicle charging stations, and an outdoor garden on the 40th floor. Across the Rue Saint-Jacques, and directly in front of the building’s main entrance, lies a 3,700-square-meter park, which is open to the public.
The main lobby is connected to Montreal’s metro and the Underground City (RÉSO) by six Schindler 9300AE escalators, and our team installed 26 elevators – including 18 Schindler 7000s, of which 16 are double-deckers – to provide an excellent passenger experience throughout the tower.
In recognition of this, the Place Banque Nationale was awarded the Elevator World Project of the Year 2024. One of the key areas this award takes into consideration is the "challenges overcome" – and this project had no shortage of them.
Planning ahead
"It really is a stunning building," says Lisa Konnry, President and CEO of Schindler Canada. "And behind it, there’s a wonderful story of real teamwork."
Prior to groundbreaking, our team conducted comprehensive traffic simulations to model how people would move through the building under various scenarios – a standard offering for all our large projects around the world. These simulations also highlighted how double-deck elevators would help reduce wait times without requiring additional hoistways.
"It was our first double-deck project in Montreal," explains Lisa. "But we had the full backing of our Global Large Projects team, so knew that it was well within our ability."
Montreal’s Underground City (RÉSO)
A network of 32 kilometers of tunnels, covering an area of 12 square kilometers, lies under the city’s central business district, connecting office towers, hotels, shopping centers, universities, and residential and commercial complexes.
With the project site located in the heart of the city’s business district, logistics were always going to be critical. The project was a massive undertaking for Schindler: 11 containers of material were used for cabins, as well as 12.7 kilometers of guiderails and 55 kilometers of suspension media length.
Over half of our entire fulfilment crew in Quebec was at hand to help on the project. "We knew from the beginning that we would have to plan everything well in advance to make sure all the equipment was delivered on time," says Antoine Deloffre, our Project Manager. It was this forward-thinking approach that put the team in the best position to handle their biggest challenge of the project: the Covid-19 pandemic.
Real-time virtual training
"We had to look for ways to cope with the restrictions that came with the pandemic," explains Antoine. "That’s where our global network really came into play – it meant we were able to keep the supply of materials coming in that we needed to keep the job on time." On top of that, our team created cabin interior mock-ups sooner than is typical, enabling earlier production and shipping. The cabins were assembled on-site in spring 2022, eliminating any risk of delay.
The project team had been scheduled to visit our factory in Shanghai for training on assembling double-deck elevators. But with travel no longer an option, Master Trainers of Installations, Simon Hou and Earl Jake Escabal conducted virtual trainings using mock-up double-decks for the team in Canada.
"Nothing gets in the way of us supporting our colleagues around the world," says Simon proudly. "We provided our first virtual mock-up installation of the double-deck elevators and multiple virtual sessions for the team on-site."
Using a six-camera setup to capture every possible angle, Simon and Jake filmed a series of pre-recorded videos and held live-stream demonstrations, detailing all critical steps of the Schindler 7000 Double-Deck elevator installation.
"The level of detail they provided and their structured approach were invaluable to our team on-site and to the project overall," says Antoine.
Place Banque Nationale was awarded:
Elevator World Project of the Year 2024
The virtual training, coupled with the team’s phased installation approach, meant that the project could continue to progress while accommodating the required access for the other trades on-site. When the restrictions were eased, Simon and Jake flew to Montreal to give on-site support and training, the span of their stay covering most of the installation process. Expert fulfilment adjusters also flew in from North America to help with final fine-tuning.
"The virtual training was very effective and helped to familiarize the team in Canada with the double-deck systems," says Jake. "But of course, it was great to get on-site and work with them all in person," he adds with a broad smile.
"It was a unique project in terms of scope and technical specifications," says Antoine. "Having the support and expertise of Simon and Jake throughout the project had a hugely positive impact on field operations."
Attention to detail
From the outside, the twisting façade of Place Banque Nationale catches the eye. It demanded a unique internal structure to accommodate its curves. The building’s elevator shafts demanded equally precise attention.
"With all high-rise buildings, we always have to inspect the hoistways before installing the guiderails," explains Simon. During construction, discrepancies in the hoistway dimensions can occur, meaning that the measures in the pit differ slightly from the measurements at the top of the building. "It’s something that we have to take into account, so that we don’t compromise the ride quality or speed of the elevators."
"Left unchecked, it could have been a big problem, but in the end, it was relatively straightforward," adds Jake. "It’s a great case study for how effective our installation methodology – Schindler SLIM – and quality-check procedures – Schindler TREX – really are."
When first evaluated for their ride quality, the elevators met all required specifications and even passed the "coin test" – where a coin placed on edge on the car floor remains standing throughout the ride. But Jake was not satisfied.
"I thought to myself, ‘this could be better,’" he says with a knowing smile. Along with the team on-site, he set about fine-tuning the elevators – using it as an opportunity to train them on how to further improve what was already a solid job.
The movement in our double-deck elevators at the Place Banque Nationale was recorded at just five milli-g
"When we were finished, we did the coin test again," says Jake. Only this time, instead of placing the coin on the floor, they opened the hidden Car Operating Panel (COP) box – a locked door used to access the car’s operational buttons during maintenance – and stood the coin on the edge of the door, which has a thickness of around two millimeters. Any movement during the ride would be amplified by the open door, which could swing on its hinges. "I think the team thought I was joking when I placed the coin there at first, but everyone was amazed when it was still standing there at the end of the ride," says Jake, beaming with pride.
Now the double-deck elevators travel at speeds of up to eight meters per second, with hardly any discernable movement – truly exceptional ride quality. Ride quality is measured in milli-g, with anything under 10 milli-g classed as a superior level. The movement in our double-deck elevators at the Place Banque Nationale was recorded at just five milli-g.
Future-proofing
The Place Banque Nationale was officially inaugurated in September 2024 and is aiming for LEED v4 Gold and WELL v2 Silver certifications, with points contributed by our energy-efficient equipment and Schindler PORT intelligent dispatching system.
Inside the building, the elevators – set up in eight car banks – are all coordinated by Schindler PORT to help keep waiting times to a minimum. Our Schindler PORT terminals have been integrated with HID mobile connectivity so that staff can access the building using their phone, combining enhanced security with user convenience.
"The successful on-time completion of such an impressive, high-quality complex such as this could only have been achieved through strong partnerships and the collaboration of all involved," says Lisa. "We’re very happy to have been able to partner with National Bank and Broccolini, the general contractor on the project, and are truly grateful for the commitment and dedication of our mechanics and our supporting teams locally and globally."