Clef des Champs grows herbs on its roof

Martin Roy et Associes of Montreal did the mechanical engineering for a new head office for Clef des Champs, a Quebec company that manufactures natural products made from medicinal plants.

The company has been located since its foundation in 1978 in the village of Val-David in the Laurentians. When it acquired new land for its agricultural operations in 2002, the company carved terrace gardens into the mountainside for growing the medicinal plants that it uses in its products.

This year, the company has built a new head office on the site. Besides providing 11,000 square feet of manufacturing, R & D and office space, the $2-million building has an 8,000 sq.ft. green roof which affords more growing space for medicinal herbs.

Blue and Yellow Sustainable Architecture designed the new headquarters with ecological features intended to earn it LEED Platinum certification. The building takes advantage of the sun for passive solar energy, re-uses grey water for a living wall, and uses some natural ventilation and geothermal radiant heating. The structure and cladding is locally harvested wood.

Martin Roy was the designer and Bruno Rajotte was the project manager at Martin Roy and Associates. Structural engineers were SBSA and Stavibel.