Lab-École

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.

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

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

• School innovation consulting
• Educational environment design
• School architecture services
• Food literacy education
• Active school programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Clarke City

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and minor.

• Centre de services scolaire de la Capitale (CSSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSS 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSSRS 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSSVDC 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSSCDR 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSSPHARES 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)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUQAM 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 LavalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversité 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)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUQTR 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.
• AgrÉcolessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgrÉcoles, 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-BacksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 ArchitectesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDMA 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 ArchitecturemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJérôme 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 ArchitecturemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 ArchitectesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPelletier 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 ArchitectesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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.
• EDspacesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLab-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

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Pinterestca.pinterest.com/lab_ecole

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lab-École