SIDEXPLO!T 2025 Highlights Quebec Wood Architecture

The SIDEXPLO!T 2025 competition steps into its first edition with a lineup of twelve projects that reflect how Quebec architects continue to innovate with genuine wood. As a design-focused initiative created by SIDEX, the competition celebrates thoughtful craftsmanship and architectural character across commercial, residential, and cultural environments. In its debut year, SIDEXPLO!T 2025 presents a collection of works where wood becomes a tool for identity, durability, and refined spatial performance. More details are available through SIDEXPLO!T 2025.

A Competition Built Around the Potential of Genuine Wood

The finalists span Quebec’s diverse landscapes, each responding to context through sustainable materials and adaptive design. From modernized mid-century homes to contemporary clinics and theatres rooted in heritage sites, these selections reflect a generation of architects who engage deeply with local ecology and craft. Throughout these twelve entries, the competition shows how genuine wood bridges memory, innovation, and long-term performance.

Residential Works Leading the Dialogue

Several finalists redefine the warmth and discipline of wood-driven residential architecture. Projects such as Res. Mainguy by Atelier FILZ and Res. Blais-Monfette by UrbanEco reinterpret familiar domestic typologies through adaptive volumes and landscape-sensitive detailing. Others, like Res. de la Clairiere and Res. de l’Ile, demonstrate how controlled material aging and Scandinavian-influenced minimalism form quiet yet expressive homes embedded in nature. Together, these residences capture the competition’s focus on comfort, resource efficiency, and contextual sensibility.

Commercial & Cultural Projects Strengthening Community Fabric

Beyond homes, several entries extend wood’s architectural intelligence to public and commercial programs. The Clinique dentaire des Cimes, by CARTA architecte + designer, uses red cedar as both a technical and expressive element, while Theatre de la Dame de Coeur renews a heritage site by aligning contemporary structures with the language of 19th-century rural architecture. These examples highlight how material coherence elevates both performance and narrative within community-oriented design.

A Cohesive Selection Reflecting Quebec’s Architectural Identity

From the sculptural precision of Le 6400 to the balanced composition of Le 155, the finalists reinforce a broader vision for the future of wood-based architecture in the region. These twelve projects, curated under the framework of SIDEXPLO!T 2025, articulate how texture, proportion, and ecological responsibility drive new architectural expressions. As the competition prepares to announce its winner in December, it stands as an essential platform showing how genuine wood continues to shape the province’s evolving design culture.

SIDEXPLO!T 2025 Finalists