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Franois Abbott
602 Clarke, Montreal
Quebec, Canada
H3Y 3E4
514 651 8089
francois.abbott@gmail.com

CV

Languages Spoken and Written Fluently ENGLISH + FRANAIS

Skills AutoCAD

Rhinoceros + Grasshopper + Vray

SketchUp
Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator + InDesign
Modeling + Woodworking + L.A.S.E.R. cutting + 3D Printing

Education M.Arch. // Dalhousie School of Architecture 2016

B.E.D.S. // Dalhousie School of Architecture 2014
BFA Art History // Concordia University 2012

Professional Experience Pelletier de Fontenay Architectes

2013 Intern
Competition Design
Project Manager for Counsel of Arts and Letters of Quebec
Concept Models + Finished Models
Publications + Communications
hpelletier@pelletierdefontenay.com

MBAM - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

2012

Client Relations
Tour/Course Organization
Maintain Client Databases
Exhibition Research

Marc-Andr Villeneuve
514-774-5511

Gallerie FOFA Galery

2011-12 Organization of Archives
Website Maintenance
Translation of Written Documents
Graphic Design/Art Installation
Interpersonel Communications
jake.moore@concordia.ca

CONTENTS

The Bench
This project was for a speech writer
for Paul Martin who had just moved
into a repurposed tobacco factory
in St-Henry, Montreal. The client
needed additional seating, but also
storage for her collection of publications. The Bench uses two materials: walnut and blue steel. Both
materials accommodate each other
in the details of the custom-made
junctures.

INVARIATIONS
This is a model built for architectural research financed by the Quebec
Counsel of Arts and Letters. The
complete series, INVARIATIONS, is
an ongoing exploration of structural lead by Montreal firm Pelletier
de Fontenay. This is a model that I
have built based on reflected ceiling
plan drawings. The model was partially LASER cut, and partially cut in
a woodshop as a kit of parts, entirely assembled in the Pelletier de
Fontenay studio. This is a concept
for a five floor building based on a
pin-wheeled structure.

2013

centrated in rich areas outside of

Central and Old Havana. The lack of
greenery results in an Urban Heat
Island Effect, causing the center of
Havana to be an average of 1 degree Celsius warmer than the rest
of the city.
This project proposes to prevent
the decay of the city by inserting
park structures that conserve and
make inhabitable the gaps and ruins of the urban fabric. Over time,
the aim of this intervention is to rid
the city of the Urban Heat Island
Effect, and create opportunities for
solitude and respite in one of the
worlds most dense cities.

Central Havana
Cuba is often used as a case study
of life after peak-oil. The country is
cut-off from global trade, and consequently cannot rely on petroleum
the way the rest of the world currently can. Out of necessity, people begin to decentralize and localize farming, independent from
the politics of petroleum since the
Embargo. Ideologies of reusing and
re-imagining the use of everyday
objects creates a commerce and a
culture of recycling.
But being cut off from the world
has caused the city of Havana, outside the reach of maintenance, to
decay. 2.1 buildings collapse daily
as unused and dangerous lots increasingly eat away at the urban
fabric.
Alongside this phenomenon, there
is a large lack of greenspace in the
city. Officially there is 1.1 meters of
greenspace per person in Havana,
however these spaces are con-

TYPE A

Two types of ruins have been identified for interventions.

TYPE A
Institutional buildings that have
been gutted.
TYPE B
Housing that has completely collapsed and been removed.

2014

Speculative map of Centro and Old Havanas decay through

the annual collapsing of buildings

1C
o

2.1 buildings collapse daily

warmer than
the rest of Havana

TYPE B

TYPE A

TYPE B

Diagram of the insertion of structure in the Type A intervention.

Diagram of the insertion of structure in the Type B intervention.

Process diagram showing the intentions of use of space within an abandoned hotel.

Diagram of the sequence of construction for the type B park from the crubling of housing
to the growth of vegetation on the structure.

Type A Site Analysis

Sun Study October 7AM - 6PM 2014. (Bottom Left: AM. Bottom Right: PM)

Type A Wall and Space-Frame Assembly

23

20
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18

Space Frame
Assembly
Bamboo
Space-Frame
Assembly

Wall Assembly 1:50

21

Type A Wall Assembly

1:50

17
16
15

1. Concrete truncated cone, poured from a modified traffic cone

2. 3/4 crushed gravel
3. Compacted granular A sand
4. 120 mm topsoil
5. Coated rebar rod planted in sand
6. Rubber base connector
7. 3/4 Steel through-bolt cast in base
8. Plumbing colar.
9. 150mm bamboo, dried, treated + coated
10. 6 x 6 interval concrete mest, coated (reppourposed from rubble) coated enamal black
11. Crushed concrete (from rubble)
12. Existing rubble from site
13. Rubber collar fixed with plumbing colar and 1/8 through-bolt
14. Space-frame connection + unit used for crossbracing
15. Bamboo (2x 120mm diameter) tied + siched + connected to colar
16. Mechanical connector supporting concrete steel mesh + rubber plug caping flooring bamboo end
17. Bamboo florring, unrolled + dried (2 layers orthoganally superimposed to be replaced annually
18. Top ccap rubber seal + connector.
19. Space frame plate connected to through-bolt in cap below
20. Space-frame assembly
21. Existing faade
22. Corrugated steel roof connected at space-frame conector plates
23. Flashing

14
13

Cut triangles from end.

Instert through-bolt +
trunkated rubber cone.
Wrap in rubber sleeve
and tighten with plumbing colar.

Fasten extended bolt into

a connecting plate.

Assemble.

10

9
7 8
6

11
4
12
3

Type B

PLAN

Sandhornya
This nomadic shelter is part of a
large series of experimental structures built for a cultural festival
called SALT. The workshops and
the festival took place on the island
of Sandhornoya in northern Norway. This shelter is part of a family
of three that can be flipped up and
transported to any location on the 1
km long beach.

2013

1
1
2
2

3
3

Larger Latch-Door Detail 1: 5

Exploded front and back latch-door construction

Exploded Front and Back Latch-Door

Construction

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4

6 6
8

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6 6
8

1
2
3
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11

3/4 PLYWOOD SHEET

BEVELED PINE 2X2 RIDGE-BEAM (60 DEGREE APEX)
1
3/4 PLYWOOD SHEET
3/4 PLYWOOD DOOR WITH 1 1/4 HOLE
2
BEVELED PINE 2X2 RIDGE-BEAM (60 DEGREE APEX)
3/4 PLYWOOD HANDLE (12 X 2 WITH SANDED CORNERS)3
3/4 PLYWOOD DOOR WITH 1 1/4 HOLE
1 1/4 BIRCH DOWEL (FASTENEND BY 2 SCREWS ON EACH4END)3/4 PLYWOOD HANDLE (12 X 2 WITH SANDED CORNERS)
5 X 5 3/4 PLYWOOD SQUARE WITH 1 1/4
1 1/4 BIRCH DOWEL (FASTENEND BY 2 SCREWS ON EACH END)
5
3/4 PLYWOOD HANDLE (14 X 2 WITH SANDED CORNERS)6
5 X 5 3/4 PLYWOOD SQUARE WITH 1 1/4
1 MM GAP
3/4 PLYWOOD HANDLE (14 X 2 WITH SANDED CORNERS)
7
2 X 2 PINE STOPPER (14 IN LENGTH, CENTERED, 1 INCH FROM
1 MM GAP
8
1X4 FLOORING, LAYED AT 45 DEGREES FROM 2X2 BRACING9
2 X 2 PINE STOPPER (14 IN LENGTH, CENTERED, 1 INCH FROM
2X2 PINE BRACING
10 1X4 FLOORING, LAYED AT 45 DEGREES FROM 2X2 BRACING
11

2X2 PINE BRACING

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10

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11

1
1

2x2 Frame

1x4 Flooring

Plywood Shell

pendent of this transitional strip.

The general landscaping strategy
for the site is a three-toned gradient. The first tone separates the
nearby residential area from the site
with a screen of local trees, such as
willow trees and white birches. A
small sinuous path passes across
this small forest. The second is a
tall-grass field that conceals designated playing areas cut-out in the
landscape. The third of these zones,
adjacent to the water, is constituted
of shorter grasses, more flexible in
its appropriation. Our interventions
aim to be as delicate and as light
as possible, placing nature at the
forefront.

Competition entry with Pelletier de Fontenay

Plage de lEst
The project explores the relationship between Montreals residents
and the St-Laurent River. It does so
by bringing the observer into the
heart of the waterway on an archipelago of floating islands anchored
between the beach and the islands
across. The construction of this
archipelago is inspired from barges, pontoons and dock technology.
Large metal hulls support simple
wooden structures. The platforms
are articulated by a system of pivots, latches and anchors. During
the winter, the system can close
into a solid shape shielding it from
ice. The opening and closing of the
islands marks the changing of seasons, reconfiguring the landscape
of the Plage de lEst.
On the riverbank, a sand beach is
flanked by a boardwalk that momentarily falls into steps overseeing the
water. The remainder of the bank is
untouched to sustain the growth of
indigenous plants and wildlife de-

Plan made in AutoCAD by Franois Abbott. Rendered by Yves de Fontenay // Pelletier de

Fontenay Architects.

By reaching out into the riverscape,

the project creates a strong gesture that engages the imagination.
The project becomes a recreational
tourism destination attracting cyclists, navigators, swimmers and
promeneurs.

2013

Summer View from Dock. Vray + PSD

Diagrams of doc positions for summer use and winter protection.

Renderings above by Pelletier de Fontenay

Rendering in collaboration with Hubert Pelletier // Pelletier de Fontenay Architects

View towards field house from path. Vray + PSD

Lobby Circulation Diagram.

North End
This project began with
an hourly programmatic
study of the North End
of Halifax throughout the
average day. The primary
program is a theatre, but
the project also includes a
much needed recreational center. Overlap occurs
in programme between
the recreational center
on Maitland Street and
the theatre on Gottigen
Street. The rehearsal
space, lobby, open meeting spaces and the ground
recreational center can
used by either programme
over different periods of
the day.
2012

Gottigen Street
Maitland Street

South Elevation Night. CAD + AI + PSD

Longsection. CAD + AI + PSD

Process Model of Theatre Lobby

1m

10m

SECOND FLOOR

THIRD FLOOR

FIRE EXIT

Process Model of Crystaline Space

Circulation of People

GROUND FLOOR

Process Model of Auditorium Acoustic Wrapping # 1

Circulation of Services

Process Model of Auditorium Acoustic Wrapping # 2

Natural Light Penetration

1m
5m

Case Study
Study of Glenn Murcutts Marie-Short House, 1974. Hand
Drafts.
2012

School of Music
This school of music was programmed for 270 music students,
a large auditorium (300 seats) as
well as a smaller auditorium (80
seats), serving as Dalhousie Universitys School of Music, but also
as a cultural center for downtown
Halifax. The initial steps of the design where to define user groups
over time (day, month and year) and
to create a common space where
these user-group programs would
convene: the atrium. The atrium is
circular, spiting the practice rooms
into trapezoidal shapes ideal for
playing an instrument without creating unwanted reverberation usually caused by parallel walls.

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Sound study of single practice room. Plexiglass, water, projection, photographs.

2013

Population of Building by User Groups Through Time

3D print of the second floor of the Atrium + Studios

Exploded model of the atrium and single studio spaces. 3D Print.

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CROSS SECTION

Public Space

1:200

Education

Service Space

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DOUBLE LAYER ROOFING MEMBRANE

50 MM RIGID INSULATION
UPN 80
METAL FLASHING
TRIPLE ARGON FILLED GLAZING
STEEL FIN
THERMODECK 12
STEEL MULLION/FIN-SUPPORT
LOUVER PROFILE
L-PROFILE 120/120/10
BOTTOM FASTNER
CONCRETE BEAM
HSS 400/200 MM

1:200

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