The Montreal Insectarium

The Montréal Insectarium is a 30-year staple of the city’s tourism and museum circuit and is the largest insect museum in North America, attracting around 400,000 visitors a year.

But the more than two-decade old building had recently begun showing its age. So the facility closed for a $38.4-million renovation – dubbed the Insectarium’s “Metamorphosis” – in 2019 aimed at updating and enlarging a building that houses more than 3,000 plants, 2,000 insects, and around 1,500 butterflies.

The renovated insectarium now sits in what is essentially an entirely new, all-glass structure with 40 percent more floor space than the previous structure.

Indeed, one of the most noticeable elements of the renovated insectarium is the sheer amount of glass that surrounds attendees from every direction, driven by nearly 40,000 total square feet of Unicel Architectural’s aluminum curtain wall and skylights:

Interior

Curtain Wall – 5,549 sq.ft.

Aluminum Panels – 2,765 sq.ft.

Skylight – 172 sq.ft.

Exterior

Curtain Wall – 17,772 sq.ft.

Aluminum Panels – 160 sq.ft.

Skylight – 13,545 sq.ft.

Unicel Architectural supplied and installed all exterior and interior aluminum curtain walls, exterior skylights, interior and exterior aluminum flashing, and interior and exterior aluminum paneling.

Other materials – such as aluminum doors and related hardware, integrated aluminum windows in the curtain walls, and aluminum louvers – were supplied by third parties and installed by Unicel Architectural.

The Insectarium de Montreal – which features butterflies flying freely, throughout the building, all year round – is now bathed in life-giving natural light. The extensive glazing also gives attendees the chance to view habitats and landscapes within the insectarium from all directions, including from a partially underground tour route and walkways beside breeding and plant production areas.

The Metamorphosis project recently received a 2023 Grand Prix d’excellence award from the Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ).