“This is how I would marry my profound
ideas on the environment to how humans
should be creating a better environment,”
Montero said. His key question was how
can we inhabit a more beautiful planet. In
fact, it became his mission. Remarkably,
he founded Tergos immediately after uni-
versity in 2001. While most would be com-
pleting internships or finding work at firms
before venturing on their own, Montero’s
story was unique simply because of the
specialization he had chosen. He couldn't
find internships with other architectural
firms that had the same vision for green
architecture.
But founding the company was simply the
tip of the iceberg in terms of challenges
to come. Finding general contractors who
would build green according to Tergos’
plans and designs was an especially tax-
ing problem. The obstacle became an op-
portunity however and Tergos reinvented
itself in 2003 as an architectural firm and a
general contractor – a two-headed beast,
as Montero affectionately calls it.
But more diversification was still to come.
Initially, Montero was running a one-man
show, but two years after, GenevièveMain-
guy, the present head of the architecture
department and Montero’s wife, joined
the company. Another two years later, Ter-
gos was operating in full gear as the con-
struction unit was incorporated whenYann
Grenier joined the team as worksite super-
intendent. From this initial trio emerged a
workforce of 20 people, with Sébastien
Gaudreault recently joining as head of con-
struction.
With 15 years of service under its belt,
“We like the idea of densifying urban areas instead of contributing to urban sprawl.”
Alejandro Montero, president
FEBRUARY 2017
H
business elite canada 63
