Mont-Tremblant offers an undeniably magnificent landscape as a year-round resort. Located north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the town of Mont-Tremblant has the look and feel of a European-style ski village. To respect the charming landscape, any new construction must reflect its surroundings. So when Canadian Tire, a national retail company, set out to build a new location in the town, it was clear that the resulting structure would be anything but typical.

Canadian Tire brought in Stendel + Reich Architecture Inc. to work on the unique retail project. While the firm has created and oversees the current design prototype for all Canadian Tire stores across Canada, it knew this location would be different. Materials and roofing styles would have to blend with the nearby village, mountains and forest, providing an exciting challenge. They performed a delicate balancing act, working with elements, shapes, and materials to harmonize with the vernacular architecture while maintaining the contemporary style of the iconic retail store.

Sheldon Reich, partner at Stendel + Reich Architecture Inc. developed the unique design concept. A center portico framing the main entrance and exit stands out with its soaring  roof supported by inclined timber struts. The result is dramatic, with an eight foot cantilevered overhang. And this distinct architectural character required a unique approach to lighting.

“Typically, we implement functional lighting, including downlights to wash the sidewalk, to ensure customers can move safely in and out of the building," Reich said. "But because this store had some unique structural elements, we chose to make a separate proposal for architectural lighting in order to draw attention to the architecture.”

Reich worked with lighting agent EDP to select Hydrel's SAF7  Architectural Floodlight. One luminaire is affixed with a yoke mount at the base of each of the six struts; the six luminaires light up the struts as well as illuminate the underside of the projecting roof. The luminaires are controlled with a standard 0-10V dimmer.

While a typical commercial project would feature exterior lighting at 4000K to 5000K color temperature, Reich specifically chose a warmer 3000K for the SAF7 static white floodlight luminaires to bring out the warmth of the wood.

“The pictures speak for themselves,” Reich said. “I knew it was a nice building, but the architectural lighting enhanced it even more than I imagined. And anytime we’ve shared the store images, the response is usually, 'Wow, this is the nicest Canadian Tire I have ever seen.'"

Canadian Tire Mont-Tremblant is equally pleased with the final result.

“We love the lighting on the front of the store,” said Marc-Alexandre Cardinal, manager of Canadian Tire Mont-Tremblant. “It keeps the rustic aspect while allowing our customers to see and appreciate the beautiful architecture from the road.”

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