Lab-École
Lab-École is a Quebec-based, government-funded school innovation incubator that designed, built, and documented six laboratory primary schools applying a three-pillar model (physical environment, healthy eating, active lifestyle), supported by free publications and planning tools distributed across the province. Its mandate concluded on June 30, 2025.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersClarke City, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lab-École does
Lab-École is a Quebec-based, non-profit school innovation incubator founded in November 2017 by architect Pierre Thibault, athlete Pierre Lavoie, and chef Ricardo Larrivée. The organization operated with a headcount of 11–50 employees and a distributed model with no single headquarters, coordinating through its six pilot schools and partner school service centers across the province. Its core offering is not a software product but a structured methodology for rethinking primary-school environments around three integrated pillars: a redesigned physical environment (architecture, landscaping, flexible multi-purpose spaces), healthy eating and food literacy, and physically active lifestyles.
Lab-École's tangible outputs consisted of six laboratory schools built in Gatineau, Maskinongé, Québec City, Rimouski, Saguenay, and Shefford (inaugurated between August 2022 and June 2025), nine major publications covering school design, food literacy, school yards, furniture, and active transportation, and seven practical planning tools (needs-assessment questionnaires, miniature furniture kits, budget templates, supplier directories). Underlying the methodology is an integrated 7-step design process and a multi-stakeholder co-design approach involving children, teachers, architects, researchers, and communities. An academic research program spanning three Quebec and three European universities (UQAM, UQTR, Laval; Cergy-Paris, Paris Cité, Fribourg) evaluated impact on student well-being, motivation, food literacy, and teacher job satisfaction, with results published in 2025.
The organization operated exclusively within Quebec under direct project funding from the Quebec Ministry of Education, supplemented by contributions from the Mouvement Desjardins, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, municipalities, and partner school service centers. There was no commercial revenue model: all publications, tools, and resources were distributed free of charge. Lab-École formally concluded its eight-year mandate on June 30, 2025, retaining its website as a static reference for the methodology and knowledge base.
Lab-École firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lab-École
- Legal name
- Lab-École
- Website
- https://lab-ecole.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lab-École is a Quebec-based, government-funded school innovation incubator that designed, built, and documented six laboratory primary schools applying a three-pillar model (physical environment, healthy eating, active lifestyle), supported by free publications and planning tools distributed across the province. Its mandate concluded on June 30, 2025.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lab-École industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Innovation Services
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Laboratory / Demonstration Schools & Clinical Practice Centers (EDAHAFAN)
Keywords
Where Lab-École is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Clarke City
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lab-École business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Government Funding and Grants: Lab-École was primarily funded by the Quebec Ministry of Education (Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec) through direct project funding for the six laboratory schools. Additional funding came from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, municipal contributions, and the Mouvement Desjardins (Fonds du Grand Mouvement). The organization completed its mandate on June 30, 2025.
- Knowledge Products and Publications: Lab-École generated knowledge products including publications, research reports, fascicles, and practical tools (budget templates, furniture directories, space design guides) distributed freely to Quebec schools to facilitate adoption of its school design model.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Lab-École product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lab-École is a Quebec-based school innovation incubator that designs, pilots, and documents innovative school models through six laboratory schools across Quebec. Its services are organized around three pillars: reimagined physical environment (architecture and flexible learning spaces), healthy eating and food literacy, and physically active lifestyle. The organization produces practical design tools, publications, and research to help schools modernize their environments.
Product overview
Lab-École is an educational innovation incubator operating as a unified program rather than a software platform. Its core offering consists of six laboratory schools across Quebec designed as living test environments for innovative school design. The organization provides a portfolio of complementary products including publications (nine major guides on school design, furniture, outdoor spaces, and active transportation), seven practical school planning tools, a podcast series, a video web series, academic research reports, and annual reports. The three foundational pillars—rethinking physical environment, promoting healthy eating, and encouraging physically active lifestyles—integrate across all products and services. The Lab-École mandate concluded on June 30, 2025 after eight years of work.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lab-École Schools (École laboratoire)
- Publications (Guides and Reports)
- School Planning Tools (Outils d'aménagement)
- Podcast: L'école dans ma cour
- Web Series (Web-série)
- Research Report on Lab-École Impacts
- Annual Reports
Quantifiable outcome
- 8 initiatives in food and agriculture selected from projects across Quebec with over 4,000 downloads of the related publication and approximately 50 applications received
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Lab-École
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Lab-École technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Lab-École partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and minor.
- Centre de services scolaire de la Capitale (CSSC)coreCSS de la Capitale partnered with Lab-École to create the first Lab-École at École Stadacona in Québec City. The school service center facilitated the project within its jurisdiction and contributed to the community engagement process.
- Centre de services scolaire des Rives-du-Saguenay (CSSRS)coreCSSRS partnered on Lab-École Saguenay (École de l'Étincelle) and distinguished itself through its agricultural and food leadership across all its schools, integrating food literacy as a district-wide educational priority.
- Centre de services scolaire du Val-des-Cerfs (CSSVDC)coreCSSVDC partnered on Lab-École Shefford (École du Zénith), bringing together the school community and municipal stakeholders in the design and delivery of the innovative school environment.
- Centre de services scolaire du Chemin-du-Roy (CSSCDR)coreCSSCDR partnered on Lab-École Maskinongé (École des Cerisiers), providing both financial co-investment and operational support for the innovative school project.
- Western Québec School Board (Commission scolaire Western Québec)coreThe Western Québec School Board partnered on Lab-École Gatineau (École Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau expansion), contributing additional investment beyond the provincial government allocation to realize the $37.4M project.
- Centre de services scolaire des Phares (CSSPHARES)coreCSSPHARES partnered on Lab-École Rimouski (École du Boisé-des-Prés), the fifth of six Lab-École schools inaugurated in September 2024.
- Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)majorUQAM professors Mélissa Goulet and Jonathan Bluteau led a multi-university research project evaluating the impact of Lab-École environments on student well-being and educational outcomes. The research engaged approximately 15 researchers from three Quebec and three European universities.
- Université LavalmajorUniversité Laval participated in the multi-university research project alongside UQAM, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, and three European universities (Cergy-Paris, Paris Cité, Fribourg) to assess Lab-École's impact on student and teacher outcomes.
- Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)majorUQTR researchers including Sébastien Rojo contributed to the Lab-École research project, with expertise in nature-based and adventure psychosocial intervention (IPNA), examining the effects of outdoor and experiential learning environments.
- AgrÉcolessupportingAgrÉcoles, an organization dedicated to integrating agri-food education into school life, collaborated with Lab-École to develop programming for food literacy, gardening, and agricultural education across the school year and seasons.
- Fondation Monique-Fitz-BacksupportingThe Fondation Monique-Fitz-Back, through its 'Enseigner dehors' (Teaching Outside) program, partnered with Lab-École to provide professional development for teachers on outdoor and nature-based education, contributing to the 'Vivre les saisons' colloquia.
- DMA ArchitectesmajorDMA Architectes won the architectural competition for Lab-École Gatineau among 18 competing projects, with their design theme 'Au cœur de la cour' (At the heart of the yard) emphasizing community belonging and Indigenous cultural connection.
- Jérôme Lapierre Architecte / ABCP ArchitecturemajorJérôme Lapierre Architecte in consortium with ABCP Architecture designed Lab-École Québec (École Stadacona), implementing an innovative tiered construction approach with accessible rooftops and seamless indoor-outdoor connections.
- Agence Spatiale + APPAREIL Architecture + BGLA ArchitecturemajorThe consortium Agence Spatiale + APPAREIL Architecture + BGLA Architecture designed Lab-École Saguenay (École de l'Étincelle), deconstructing conventional school design to create a warm, home-like scale with 'maisonnées' (household units) organized by learning cycles.
- Pelletier de Fontenay Architectes + Leclerc ArchitectesmajorPelletier de Fontenay Architectes and Leclerc Architectes designed Lab-École Shefford (École du Zénith), creating a school that integrates harmoniously with the natural landscape at the foot of Mont Shefford, earning recognition including Canadian Architect's Governor General's Medals in Architecture (2024).
- Paquet et Taillefer + Leclerc ArchitectesmajorThe consortium Paquet et Taillefer and Leclerc Architectes designed Lab-École Maskinongé (École des Cerisiers), reinterpretating the local architectural heritage of Maskinongé through a 'learning street' concept connecting preschool and primary sections.
- La Recette (épicerie communautaire)supportingThe community grocery store La Recette provided local biological and regional products to École de l'Étincelle in Saguenay, supporting the school's food literacy and food security programming in partnership with the Plateforme bioalimentaire boréale Solidar.
- Centre des enfants et de la pédiatrie sociale (Saguenay)supportingThe Centre des enfants et de la pédiatrie sociale was integrated into École de l'Étincelle in Saguenay, bringing social pediatric services into the school environment and strengthening the community integration dimension of the Lab-École model.
- EDspacesminorLab-École participated in the EDspaces 2023 conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, to explore international trends in educational furniture and school design, and to position Quebec as an international leader in school environment innovation.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Lab-École competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lab-École social profiles
Digital presenceLab-École financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lab-École leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Lab-École funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lab-École 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 Lab-École
What does Lab-École do?
Lab-École is a Quebec-based school innovation incubator that designs, pilots, and documents innovative school models through six laboratory schools across Quebec. Its services are organized around three pillars: reimagined physical environment (architecture and flexible learning spaces), healthy eating and food literacy, and physically active lifestyle. The organization produces practical design tools, publications, and research to help schools modernize their environments.
Is Lab-École a public or private company?
Lab-École is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Lab-École founded?
Lab-École was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lab-École based?
Lab-École is headquartered in Clarke City, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Lab-École make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Funding and Grants are the primary driver. The others are knowledge Products and Publications.
Does Lab-École have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lab-École.
What industry is Lab-École in?
Lab-École's product category is Educational Innovation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAFAN, Laboratory / Demonstration Schools & Clinical Practice Centers. Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.