Rising with Montréal

Founded in Montréal almost a century ago, NFOE designs some of Canada’s most important private- and public-sector buildings for an impressive range of industries, including healthcare, communications, aerospace, and education.

“Over the years, our firm has developed a specialization in the design of complex and sophisticated facilities,” says Alan Orton, a partner with NFOE. “These facilities require a thorough understanding of programmatic requirements, flexible design solutions, and the seamless integration of architectural and engineering considerations. Our knowledge base and collaborative approach serve to distinguish NFOE from our competitors in these areas.”

A full-service architectural firm, NFOE has gone from designing  Montréal’s first skyscrapers to working on the city’s two largest ongoing construction projects. The firm continues to build on its areas of expertise and expand its service offerings to keep pace with development in key market sectors. But regardless of the project, Orton asserts that one key factor never changes. “Our primary objective is to fully comprehend our clients’ needs and tailor our services accordingly,” he says. “We particularly support the development of innovative and cost-effective design solutions and, thus, encourage creative thinking, strategic decision making, and proactive management at all levels of our team.”

1912: A century of design begins

Originally known as Barott, Blackader & Webster, NFOE is founded by Ernest Isbell Barott, who came to Canada from the United States to work on the Bank of  Montréal headquarters in the early 1900s. Barott stays and forms a partnership with architects Gordon Home Blackader of Montréal and Daniel T. Webster, a fellow American. All three had been colleagues at McKim, Mead & White in New York, a relationship that leads to major commissions for the young firm early on, including the Vancouver Terminal Station (1913–15), whose design is reminiscent of Pennsylvania Station, and the Vancouver Credit Foncier Building (1913–14), which mirrors the style of the Gorham Building in New York City.

1930s: Looking Up

The firm contributes greatly to the changing skyline of Montréal with the 1929 construction of the 22-storey Bell Building on Beaver Hall Hill and the Aldred Building on Place d’Armes in 1931. Both buildings reflect a new, urban quality, and showcase the distinctive Art Deco detailing of the era. While working on these and other notable office and residential projects, NFOE also undergoes a new wave of partners, each of which brings new direction to the firm.

1970s: a change comes 

After undergoing a fourth wave of partners in the late 1970s and 1980s, the firm takes a strategic change in direction, becoming more involved with industrial and private-sector development in the high-technology and heavy industries.

1988: a 20-year hallmark project begins

NFOE lands its biggest project to date—the Merck-Frosst campus development—which establishes the firm’s credibility in the marketplace. From 1988 to 2008, the firm completes 10 buildings for the project and, through the process, doubles in size.

2006: winning design work

The vaccine-production complex of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in Sainte-Foy, Québec, wins a Lauréat des méritas d’architecture de la ville de Québec, the Prix Armatura in the industrial category, and the Prix Accès grand prize for industrial work.

2010: back to the future

The firm relocates to the original banking spaces of the Québec Bank, located within  Montréal’s oldest skyscraper, the New York Life Insurance Building on Place d’Armes, which was completed in 1889. The elegant remodeling to accommodate NFOE’s studios pays special attention to restoring the original features of the space.

2011: a leader in the field

NFOE is chosen as the leader of the architectural consortium for the new research centre of the Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal, and lead architect for the design of the research centre of the new McGill University Health Centre, both under construction as PPP projects. NFOE continues to build its science, technology, and industrial knowledge base, and brings the design of dedicated office buildings and healthcare facilities back to its portfolio of work. Recent university- and school-design opportunities complete the firm’s return to a diversified practice.