Maison Alcan

Maison Alcan (English: Alcan House) is a building complex located on Sherbrooke Street in the Golden Square Mile district of Montreal. The complex was used to house the world headquarters for Alcan, now part of Rio Tinto Alcan, until 2015. Completed in 1983, the complex's integration of new construction with restored or renovated buildings marked a turning point in corporate Montreal's approach to development. Maison Alcan combined restored Golden Square Mile properties — Atholstan House, the Beique, the former Berkeley Hotel, the Holland House, as well as the Salvation Army's Montreal Citadel on Drummond Street — with a new aluminum-clad structure, known as the Davis Building. The Berkeley Hotel serves as the main entrance to the complex and its atrium, on Sherbrooke Street. According to the La Presse newspaper, Maison Alcan marked the first time a major corporation based in Montreal had sought to preserve historic properties as part of a new headquarters. In contrast to the controversial demolition of the nearby Van Horne Mansion, Maison Alcan preserved part of the architectural heritage of the Golden Square Mile.