tors, among the most memorable Ouellet re-
calls the undertaking of an underground park-
ing lot at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Quebec
City. The construction work required a very
high degree of expertise to put in 550 parking
spaces throughout 18 half-floors in 30 metres
of rock. A 50-metre pedestrian tunnel that links
the parking lot to the main hospital entrance
was also installed without ever affecting auto-
motive traffic traveling underneath.
Also in the arena of institutional projects
are several museums that B&L has been piv-
otal in constructing. One of them,
La Cité de
l’énergie de Shawinigan
is a 1,700 square-me-
tre museum with a daringly bold architectural
design. The project included the construction
of a 120-metre high observation tower, which
overhangs the site. It is certainly a very unique
structure and tourist attraction in the Quebec
province, with an exterior panoramic eleva-
tor, which runs 12 months a year. Inside, B&L
also installed a multimedia projection room
equipped with a seating system, which rotates
360 degrees. In 1986, the
Imax de Québec
mov-
ie theatre was constructed and equipped with
the largest big screen in Canada. It was Béland
& Lapointe’s first management seed-funded
project. Judging from the looks of its 32-year
project portfolio, innovation is certainly the key
to the company’s market endurance.
International Standards Organization (ISO)
certification also stands behind B&L since
1999— ISO is the highest level of certification
possible. Last year B&L also acquired Lead-
ership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) certification that is the benchmark in
the construction industry to uphold the prin-
ciples of sustainable development. LEED cer-
tification ensures the following standards in
project development: sustainable site devel-
opment, water efficiency, energy efficiency,
materials selection and resources, indoor air
AUGUST 2014
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business elite canada 31
