The Aldred Building (French: Édifice Aldred; also known as Édifice La Prévoyance) is an Art Deco structure located on the historic Place d'Armes square in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Completed in 1931, the building was designed by Ernest Isbell Barott of the firm Barott and Blackader. Standing at 96 meters (316 ft) or 23 storeys tall, it was constructed at a cost of $2,851,076 (equivalent to $54,622,444 in 2023). Barott aimed to create a modern building that harmonized with the historic surroundings of the square. The design features setbacks at the 8th, 13th, and 16th floors, allowing more light to reach the square and creating a cathedral-like massing that reflects the nearby Notre-Dame Basilica. The Aldred Building is constructed from limestone, a material common to the area, and aligns with both Place d'Armes and Notre-Dame Street, stepping back on the third floor to square with Notre-Dame, subtly addressing the angular intersection.
Resembling New York's Empire State Building, which was completed in the same year, the Aldred Building was commissioned for Aldred and Company Limited, an international finance firm based in New York City. Barott began the project around 1927, initially planning for a 12-storey structure due to Montreal's height restrictions, which allowed for buildings to reach 130 feet (40 m). However, a 1929 bylaw permitted taller buildings if setbacks were utilized to reduce their mass. The Aldred Building took advantage of a clause in this bylaw allowing for an additional height of up to 200 feet (61 m) on public squares, leading to its current design. The total floor area is 238,946 square feet (22,198.8 m²).
The Aldred Building's exterior features Indiana limestone set on a granite base, complemented by aluminum spandrels. The entrance lobby showcases a variety of marbles, with the interior doors inlaid with white metal and the exterior gates made of bronze. The flooring above ground level consists of terrazzo with brass strips, while bronze frames adorn the windows of the ground-floor bank. The building’s steel structure is supported by a solid nine-foot-thick concrete mat two floors below street level, and fireproofed with terra-cotta tiles. It boasts 840 windows, accounting for about 20 percent of the building's surface area, and incorporates modern services such as conditioned ventilation, a central vacuum system, an electric time-clock system, and high-speed elevators installed by Otis Fensom, capable of traveling at 700 feet (210 m) per minute with teak interiors.

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Inserted: 22-10-2024 23:10:33