NÓS Architects
NÓS Architectes is a Montreal-based boutique architecture firm delivering architecture, urban design, interior design, and scenographic installation services for developers, cultural institutions, municipalities, and private clients across Quebec and select international projects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersMontréal, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NÓS Architects does
NÓS Architectes is a Montreal-based boutique architecture firm founded in 2012 by Gil Hardy and Charles Laurence Proulx. The firm delivers professional architecture, interior design, urban design, and scenography services across residential (multi-unit and single-family), commercial/mixed-use, cultural, institutional, and community project typologies. Its core methodology pairs traditional architectural practice with multi-sensory, experiential design — including anamorphic street installation techniques (exemplified by the Dunes [é]mouvantes at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal) and a structured place-making process (multi-Act community engagement for projects such as Esplanade Cartier). A dedicated Experimental Projects (Workshop) division pursues research-creation and scenographic installations, while the main practice handles commissioned building and urban design work.
The firm's client base spans real estate developers (Prével, Primer, TGTA, Société de développement Angus), cultural institutions (MBAM, Quartier des Spectacles de Montréal, La Biosphère, Loto-Québec/MR-63), municipalities (Arrondissement du Sud-Ouest), and educational clients (Université Concordia, Commission Scolaire Val-des-Cerfs). Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees determined per engagement; there is no publicly disclosed pricing. Distribution is entirely direct, with project wins achieved through a mix of direct commissions, invited and open architecture competitions (C40 Reinventing Cities, HOME Competition, McGill College redesign, Lab-École), and public consultation engagements (OCPM). Marketing is earned-media-driven through award recognition, architecture press coverage (Canadian Architect, Le Devoir), conference speaking, and academic teaching (Université de Montréal), supported by active Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles and a project-based website at n-o-s.ca.
The firm operates as a privately held Quebec professional corporation with no external institutional investors, no parent company, and no funding rounds. It is headquartered at 375 de la Commune Ouest in Old Montreal and is staffed by 15 professionals including co-founders, a technical director, senior technologists, designers, urban planners, and architecture candidates. Notable recognition includes the 2023 Prix Relève en architecture from the Ordre des architectes du Québec, a 2021 Canadian Architect Twenty + Change: Emerging Talent selection, multiple Prix Or from Grands Prix du Design, and a Prix Platine from the Architecture Masterprize for Esplanade Cartier.
NÓS Architects firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NÓS Architects
- Legal name
- NÓS Architectes
- Website
- https://n-o-s.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- NÓS Architectes is a Montreal-based boutique architecture firm delivering architecture, urban design, interior design, and scenographic installation services for developers, cultural institutions, municipalities, and private clients across Quebec and select international projects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NÓS Architects industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where NÓS Architects is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montréal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
NÓS Architects business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: NÓS generates revenue through professional architecture and design service fees for commissioned projects, including residential (multi-unit housing, private homes), commercial/mixed-use, institutional, community, and cultural projects. Revenue is earned through project-based fees for design, planning, and construction oversight services.
- Urban Design and Planning Consultancy: The firm provides urban design services including participatory place-making processes, urban planning consultation (e.g., OCPM public consultations), and master planning for developers and municipalities. These are billed as professional service engagements.
- Experimental Installations and Research-Creation: The firm undertakes experimental installation projects (e.g., Dunes [é]mouvantes at MBAM, Voûte Éventielle with Loto-Québec, Jardins Suspendus with Quartier des Spectacles) often commissioned by cultural institutions or municipalities, contributing to revenue while serving as reputational showcases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional service fees for architecture and design services |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
NÓS Architects product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NÓS Architects is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary architectural firm that provides professional architecture, interior design, and urban design services for residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, and community clients. The practice delivers full project commissions (from concept to construction oversight) plus an Experimental Projects division focused on scenography, research-creation, and temporary public installations such as the Dunes [é]mouvantes anamorphic street artwork at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal.
Product overview
NÓS Architects is a Montreal-based architectural and urban design firm operating as a single unified practice. The firm offers core architectural services across residential, commercial, cultural, interior, and community building types, complemented by an Experimental Projects (Workshop) division focused on research, scenography, and installation-events. Case Studies document major completed works. The practice also engages in urban design and planning services, including place-making initiatives and sustainable development consulting. Projects span from private residences like Les Trois Sommets and Résidence SADL to large-scale multi-residential developments such as Union sur Parc, cultural installations like Dunes [é]mouvantes at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and urban design projects including Esplanade Cartier and Sainte-Catherine/Parthenais.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture & Design Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Award-winning portfolio with multiple international design awards across residential, urban design, and installation categories
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use NÓS Architects
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
NÓS Architects technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
NÓS Architects partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Quartier des Spectacles de MontréalflagshipPartnership for the Jardins Suspendus installation (2021), a scenographic and landscape intervention activating the Quartier des Spectacles with suspended gardens and public seating. NÓS collaborated with Studio Superwise and Rainville + Sangaré on this project, creating a temporary public space that brings nature into the urban core.
- Studio SuperwisecoreStudio Superwise provided signage and graphic design for the Espace Les Causeries project, and collaborated with NÓS and Rainville + Sangaré on the Jardins Suspendus installation. A recurring creative partner for experiential and scenographic projects.
- Rainville + SangarécoreCollaborated with NÓS and Studio Superwise on the Jardins Suspendus installation. Also partnered on the Stations Hivernales winter installation with the Sud-Ouest borough. An established Montreal landscape and urban installation practice.
- Loto-Québec / MR-63flagshipLoto-Québec and the MR-63 initiative commissioned the Voûte Événementielle, a prefabricated wood event structure housing a recovered Montreal M-63 metro car as an event stage along the Lachine Canal. NÓS collaborated with Raphael Thibodeau on this publicly visible cultural installation.
- Université de MontréalcoreCo-founder Charles Laurence Proulx served as invited professor at Université de Montréal's School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, leading an urban design workshop titled 'zone franches' on reimagining downtown Montreal in a pandemic context. This academic partnership connects the firm with future architects and positions it as a thought leader.
- La BiosphèreflagshipPartnered with La Biosphère (Environment Canada's museum) on the Espace de Liberté research-creation installation exploring Montreal's post-climate-change waterfront future, with collaborators Philippe Gachon, Jean-Gilles Lemieux, and Michel Hardy.
- Collectif GHIPTminorCollaborated with NÓS on Les Courtepointes, an intergenerational textile street installation on Rue Fleury in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, commissioned by SDC Promenade Fleury.
- Raphael ThibodeaucoreA recurring collaborator across multiple projects including Voûte Événementielle (with Loto-Québec/MR-63), Dunes [é]mouvantes, Union sur Parc, Résidence SADL, and other installations. Contributes photography and design expertise.
- Université ConcordiaminorPartnered with Université Concordia on the Lighthouse project, a solar-powered public lighting device designed for the Westmount area, developed with Étienne Guinard.
- La PépinièrecoreThe firm participated in La Pépinière's ephemeral village projects starting in 2016. These community projects with local citizens and artists served as a gateway to public engagement practice and professional community building, informing the firm's place-making methodology.
- Village au Pied-du-CourantflagshipPartnered on Le Bateau installation (2015), a ship-like public installation on the Saint-Laurent River at the Village au Pied-du-Courant, with collaborators Jean-Gilles Lemieux and Simon Lussier. The installation was visible from Île Sainte-Hélène and the river.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NÓS Architects competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Provencher Roy: Major Montreal-based architecture and urban design firm. Comparable as a direct competitor for institutional, cultural (notably Musée d'art contemporain and similar), and developer commissions in the same Quebec market, with overlapping interior and urban design practices.
- Lemay: One of Canada's largest and most award-winning architecture firms, headquartered in Montreal. Comparable because it operates in the same Montreal market across architecture, urban design, interior design, and landscape — the same multi-disciplinary stack NÓS pursues — but at materially larger scale across commercial, institutional, cultural, and residential projects.
- KPMB Architects: Canadian architecture firm with strong institutional and cultural portfolio. Comparable because of overlapping cultural-institution clientele and award-driven positioning, though at significantly larger scale and geographic footprint.
Direct peers
- APPAREIL Architecture: Montreal-based architecture and urban design firm working on housing, institutional, and adaptive-reuse projects. Direct peer because of overlapping Quebec market, comparable multidisciplinary scope (architecture + urban design), and similar developer and institutional client base.
- MU Architecture: Montreal-based boutique architecture practice working on residential, commercial, and cultural projects with a strong design-identity and award-winning portfolio. Direct peer because it competes for the same developer and cultural-institution clients in Montreal and pursues a similarly design-forward, media-visible positioning.
- Nature Humaine: Montreal boutique architecture studio known for contextually-driven residential and small-scale institutional work with strong publication profile. Direct peer given similar firm size, Quebec concentration, and competition for design-led developer commissions.
- La Shed Architecture: Montreal-based boutique architecture firm with comparable size, residential and commercial project mix, and a strong emphasis on contextual and community-oriented design. Direct peer competing in the same Quebec mid-market for developer and institutional commissions.
- Diamond Schmitt Architects: Canadian architecture firm with deep cultural-institution portfolio (museums, performing arts centers). Comparable to NÓS for the cultural-institution commission track (MBAM, Quartier des Spectacles, Loto-Québec) where NÓS's installation and scenographic work overlaps with Diamond Schmitt's cultural architecture practice.
- Kanva: Montreal-based architecture and design practice with comparable award-winning residential and institutional work and a research-driven design identity. Direct peer because it competes for similar Quebec developer clients and pursues analogous experimental and built-work visibility.
Emerging players
- Atelier Urban Face: Montreal-based emerging architecture and urban design practice. Comparable as a similarly sized, similarly design-led firm competing for early-career visibility and small-to-mid developer and municipal commissions in Quebec.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
NÓS Architects social profiles
Digital presenceNÓS Architects financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NÓS Architects leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
NÓS Architects funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NÓS Architects M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NÓS Architects
What does NÓS Architects do?
NÓS Architects is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary architectural firm that provides professional architecture, interior design, and urban design services for residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, and community clients. The practice delivers full project commissions (from concept to construction oversight) plus an Experimental Projects division focused on scenography, research-creation, and temporary public installations such as the Dunes [é]mouvantes anamorphic street artwork at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal.
Is NÓS Architects a public or private company?
NÓS Architects is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NÓS Architects founded?
NÓS Architects was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is NÓS Architects based?
NÓS Architects is headquartered in Montréal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does NÓS Architects make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Architecture and Design Services are the primary driver. The others are urban Design and Planning Consultancy and experimental Installations and Research-Creation.
Who are NÓS Architects's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Provencher Roy, Lemay and KPMB Architects. Direct peers are APPAREIL Architecture, MU Architecture, Nature Humaine, La Shed Architecture, Diamond Schmitt Architects and Kanva. Atelier Urban Face is listed as an emerging player.
Does NÓS Architects have an API?
No public API is recorded for NÓS Architects.
What industry is NÓS Architects in?
NÓS Architects's product category is Architectural Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAB, Interior Design Services. Its NAICS code is 541310.