Équipe Laurence’s new head office coming to Ste-Adèle, Que.

Équipe Laurence announced today it will establish its new head office in Ste-Adèle, Que., with an initial investment of more than $7 million and a vision for what it calls an “inspiring” civil engineering campus.

The firm plans to construct two buildings at 135 Sainte-Adèle Blvd., just off exit 64 of the Laurentian Autoroute, which will facilitate research and development (R&D) projects in civil engineering. Located along two waterways and dotted with woods and greenery, the site will incorporate outdoor workstations and walking paths.

“Without being presumptuous, we cultivate the vision and the will to make this brand-new campus a professional crossroads, capable of contributing to the influence of civil engineering throughout the Quebec economy,” says Équipe Laurence president and CEO Alexandre Latour (pictured, centre). “It will be a centre of attraction for a pool of young talent.”

The buildings will be heated and air-conditioned with geothermal energy produced by retention and aerated ponds at a local wastewater treatment plant. The site will feature permeable and honeycombed paving stones and a patent-pending process for rainwater treatment, sanitary sewer management and roof water recovery for toilet management and irrigation purposes. Live tracking data from these systems will be displayed in the main building’s waiting room.

“This unique project will capitalize on a host of eco-responsible concepts related to sustainable development,” says Ste-Adèle’s mayor, Nadine Brière (pictured, third from right). “We are proud to welcome this important investment.”

Latour expects the campus will grow in the future, offering capacity to host other, peripheral, specialized professional service providers on the same site. The firm cites a vision of a “small Silicon Valley of civil engineering.”