The Challenge: In 1990 the Bank of Montreal adopted a new corporate strategic plan to guide the Bank into the 21st century: to create an organization capable of constantly learning and transforming itself. When the Chairman of the Bank of Montreal commissioned Moriyama & Teshima to design the Bank's new corporate university, he wanted more than just a building. He wanted us to help evolve a new bank culture where employees would be encouraged to strive for creativity, excellence, and teamwork.

The Solution: In the very early stages, bank thinking had yet to progress beyond a basic, functional building design. A meeting with the Bank's Chairman opened the way to a much more creative solution. The result is a dynamic and uplifting environment that opens up the minds of employees with the promise of new and challenging learning experiences.

Architecturally, the Institute is distinguished by its taut, glass-enclosed, three-storey Bow, symbolizing the bank's bold step into the future. The Bow is the Institute's major circulation space, where all paths cross. It is also a place for team-building activities - banquets, receptions, awards ceremonies, games, and exercises - that challenge body and mind.

People learn in different ways and settings. For formal learning, the Institute has 12 spacious classrooms wired and equipped with audio-visual, computer and telecommunications technology. Eight role-playing rooms have video playback equipment. Twenty breakout rooms accommodate discussions and projects in small teams. Larger groups gather in the multi purpose 250-seat Presentation Hall with its 33-foot-long rear-screen projection wall.

One of the major design objectives was to create in Bank employees the overwhelming urge to interact. An impromptu conversation can lead to an unexpected sharing of ideas - in other words, a learning experience. Countless opportunities exist for casual encounters: in front of the fireplace or at the pool table in one of the many lounges, between laps in the pool, or in the outdoor courtyards.

The Result: Since its opening, the Institute for Learning has received considerable attention for its support of lifelong learning in the workplace. It has won numerous awards including the Optima Award, North America's top award for outstanding achievement in human resources management, and the World Initiative on Lifelong Learning Award as Top Learning Organization in Canada. It has been featured in Corporate University Review and Fast Company.

"It's not another monument, but a dynamic environment for continuous learning. Vast hallways are punctuated with windowed alcoves designed for serendipitous meetings and informal conversation; eight role-playing rooms with video-playback technology stand ready; and the central hall features an "affinity wall" on which clients engage in visible threads of dialogue."
"Working Smarter is a Full-time Job," Fast Company, October 1996

With its wide variety of spaces - indoor and outdoor, formal and informal, large and small, open and enclosed - the building continues to adapt well to ongoing curriculum changes, especially the current experiential approach to learning. The adventure-based challenge course, where students test physical and mental agility, is now held outdoors in the central courtyard and in the Bow, where students shatter perceived limitations and learn about risk and trust by rappelling down its 25-foot brick wall.

Today, Bank of Montreal is not only competing successfully, it has succeeded in becoming a highly diversified financial services institution. With offices in every major financial centre around the world, it is ranked one of the 10 largest in North America. It was the first bank to provide customers with a full range of financial services in all three NAFTA countries and a leader in providing a comprehensive virtual banking service across Canada and the US.