ACDF Architecture - CRJDA Sainte-Thérèse - Designing Rehabilitation with Gentleness - Sainte-Thérèse - Canada

2025-10-23

In a field as delicate as youth rehabilitation, every architectural gesture carries meaning. The new Centre de réadaptation pour jeunes en difficulté d’adaptation (CRJDA) in Sainte-Thérèse, designed by ACDF Architecture in collaboration with Stantec, deliberately departs from conventional institutional codes to offer a place of care and support founded on dignity, empathy, and trust.

"Architecture does not heal. But it can help create the conditions for healing," says Joan Renaud, Partner, ACDF Architecture.

A gentle and reassuring materiality

The architecture of the CRJDA is grounded in a soothing materiality, expressed as much through its volumes as through its textures. Materials and detailing meet a wide range of requirements related to durability and the safety of both youth and staff, combining standards akin to those in healthcare environments and, for certain elements, those found in correctional settings. The firm's challenge was to transcend these constraints to create spaces that feel warm, human, and comforting. The building unfolds in a fluid composition, marked by generous curves and a gentle horizontality—deliberately breaking away from the rigid, defensive forms so often associated with institutional environments. The exterior is clad in wood, used sparingly and with precision, lending a warm, familiar presence. From the moment of arrival, it sets a serene tone, evoking residential, rather than institutional, atmospheres.

Complementing this is a facade of pastel-toned panels, arranged in a random, yet rhythmic pattern. This play of soft, non-hierarchical colors creates a subtly vibrant texture, deliberately breaking the monotony and rigid effect often associated with hospital, correctional, or strictly functional architecture. The building thus presents a more welcoming, more accessible face—almost playful, without ever being infantilizing. This attention to materiality—natural wood, curved forms, pastel tones—expresses a clear intent: to create an environment that soothes without dulling, that provides structure without oppression. It is architecture that sets the stage for trust, even before one steps inside. "We wanted to give trust a shape," explains Joan Renaud. "An architecture that doesn’t say: ‘I’m watching you’, but: ‘I’m here’."

An everyday, undramatic spatiality

The program is organized into four distinct wings. The first, located at the site’s entrance, houses educational and support spaces: classrooms, library, gymnasium, offices for staff and health professionals, as well as a temporary detention area. This wing forms the institutional core of the project, accommodating the structural functions of the youths’ daily lives.

A school designed for attention and self-esteem

Within this educational wing, the learning spaces were designed with the same concern for fluidity, wayfinding, and care. Each classroom is marked by a distinctively colored threshold—a simple but effective visual cue that allows the youth to easily orient themselves. This intuitive signage reinforces their sense of control and autonomy in an environment that can otherwise be intimidating. Inside the classrooms, informal areas have been created: alcoves, soft seating, small nooks where attention can be focused differently. These features address the needs of youth with more acute attention disorders or emotional states requiring a less rigid, more adaptable setting. Here, space becomes an active pedagogical tool—capable of adapting to diverse paths and rhythms. "For some, sitting at a desk is already a challenge," nores Joan Renaud. "We need to offer other ways to learn, to listen, to remain present. Architecture can help."

A passage as a threshold between two worlds

At the center of the institutional volume, a transversal passage links the first wing to the three residential wings, each containing living units. More than just a physical connection, this passage embodies a symbolic transition—a threshold between two worlds: between school and home, between a therapy session and a return to intimacy. In both directions, it acts as a spatial and emotional buffer. "This passage is a buffer," explains Renaud. "It prepares, it soothes, it frames movement with an awareness of place and time." Generous views of gardens and an elevated terrace reserved for the youth strengthen this immersive experience. Nature becomes a constant point of reference—softening transitions, easing thresholds, and offering essential visual breathing space. Inside, all rigidity is rejected. Spaces flow into one another, punctuated by visual openings and softened curves, avoiding any oppressive linearity. Movement is never forced. Far from the tunnel effect of institutional corridors, the journey feels inhabited, welcoming, almost domestic—a place of passage that fosters grounding and presence, both to oneself and to others. In the living units, this compassionate architectural approach reaches its peak. Each room is conceived as a cocoon: wooden walls, soft light, and a peaceful alcove. Far from evoking isolation or punishment, these spaces open onto a generous, light-filled common area that fosters dialogue. The project embraces porosity — between the youth, between spaces, between the intimate and the collective.

An architecture of connection

This center is not only for the youth—it is also a workplace, a space of listening and commitment for the many staff members who work here daily. Their role is immense, and the architecture has been designed to offer them an environment worthy of that responsibility. The staff office, located at the heart of each unit, reflects this intent: visible yet discreet, central without dominating. It ensures a watchful presence based on proximity and trust, rather than control. In a context where safety concerns are numerous, and often critical, the project shows rigor without rigidity. Every element—built-in furniture, controlled sightlines, transitional thresholds—has been designed to protect without stigmatizing. Discreet evacuation corridors allow for the safe removal of a youth in crisis without unnecessary exposure, preserving dignity while ensuring both physical and emotional safety for staff. "Safety here is not imposed,"explains Renaud. "It is embedded in the organization of space, in its legibility, in the ability to act quickly without breaking the relationship."

An architecture open to the landscape

The experience of the place extends beyond the walls into carefully designed outdoor spaces, where architecture dialogues with the landscape to offer a setting for open-air growth. Organized into thematic quadrants, the grounds provide a variety of uses and atmospheres—from physical exertion to contemplation, from social interaction to retreat. Sports facilities encourage physical expression, energy release, and group dynamics. Play modules, placed near gathering areas, promote gentle, spontaneous appropriation. One of the project’s most sensitive gestures is its treatment of the wooded area, preserved and enhanced. Overlooking a wetland, it offers zones for contemplation, conversation, and silence. Pathways take on a narrative quality, and the landscape architecture supports rehabilitation by inviting slowness, listening, and reconnection. At the site’s perimeter, a dense vegetative belt acts as a filter—concealing fences, softening boundaries, and imparting a confidential, calming atmosphere. This choice avoids any sense of confinement, while also meeting security requirements.

A place of transition

The CRJDA in Sainte-Thérèse is not a place of retreat—it is a place of passage, designed to accompany a fragile moment in life, for both the youth and those who support them. It is a place where architecture, humble yet committed, supports the essential work of caregivers and offers youth a setting conducive to rebuilding themselves. “We aimed for an architecture that brings people together rather than sets them apart. The building becomes a place of mutual trust.” — Joan Renaud This approach is rooted in a participatory vision of architecture—one that heals not only through form, but through its capacity to create environments that are fair, balanced, and meaningful. A tool of mediation, between youth and their journey, between professionals and their mission.

About ACDF Architecture

With a portfolio of ambitious and design-savvy commercial, residential, hospitality, interior, and master planning projects, ACDF is recognized as one of Canada’s most forward-thinking architecture firms. Under the direction of Maxime-Alexis Frappier, Joan Renaud, and Etienne Laplante Courchesne, the firm’s harmonious designs of large-scale projects have received numerous awards and accolades in recognition of their progressive approach to a new generation of meaningful and impactful buildings. ACDF is built upon a foundation of pragmatism and creativity, embracing the belief that every building should serve its inhabitants and passersby. Beyond the status of grand gestures and iconic appearances, the firm believes that buildings should be experiences infused with emotive and democratic architecture that touches and benefits all who come in contact with it. That process begins with practical solutions and creative designs that foster harmonious architecture, ensuring that every finished structure projects a sense of meaning and mission. Based in Montreal, Quebec, ACDF draws inspiration from a city known for its liveability and vitality, and which straddles the divide between Europe and North America, and between the historic and the modern. Energized by challenges and constraints, ACDF explores and evaluates each project’s limitations in order to inject it with fresh ideas and innovative solutions that exceed expectations and imaginations.

Photo credit: Adrien Williams