Consignaction

As Québec undertakes the most significant transformation of its deposit-return system in decades, a new generation of public spaces is emerging across the province. Commissioned by the AQRCB, VAD Designers d’espaces developed the architectural concept and interior design framework for Consignaction, a province-wide network expected to deploy nearly 400 return points. Rather than proposing a one-size-fits-all solution, the design team envisioned an evolving spatial identity capable of adapting to a wide range of sites while ensuring a consistent user experience and a distinctive architectural language.

The project challenges the traditional perception of deposit-return locations. Rather than simply integrating collection points into grocery stores, Consignaction reimagines the experience by creating welcoming public destinations where returning containers becomes simple, intuitive, and efficient. Deposit return is no longer viewed as a purely functional task, but as a meaningful everyday action that reflects Québec’s environmental ambitions and encourages public participation in the circular economy.

To accommodate a diversity of operational contexts, the design framework is organized around two complementary formats: Consignaction, primarily intended for urban settings, and Consignaction+, designed for larger, high-volume facilities. Both formats are based on the same design principles while offering the flexibility needed to respond to the specific characteristics of each site.

User Experience at the Heart of the Design

The success of this transformation of the deposit-return system depends largely on the quality of the experience offered to Québec residents in these new return locations. It was therefore essential to rethink an experience that was previously limited to individual return machines in grocery stores, making it faster, more seamless, and more intuitive.

Recognizing that every visitor approaches the return process differently, the sites are organized around three complementary user journeys. High-volume automated return stations accommodate visitors returning large quantities of containers, while individual return machines serve more routine visits. An express service also allows users to drop off pre-sorted bags to the staff. This flexible layout enables each visitor to choose the journey that best suits their needs while helping reduce wait times.

The spatial organization reinforces this approach through clear sightlines, carefully planned circulation, and streamlined layouts that make navigation intuitive. From the moment they arrive, visitors can quickly understand how the space works and complete their return independently and efficiently.

Performance and Hospitality

Balancing operational requirements with high-quality architecture presented a unique challenge. Hygiene, safety, odour control, durability, resistance, and operational efficiency all had to coexist within welcoming environments without creating an overly industrial atmosphere. Rather than allowing these constraints to define the experience, the design integrates them into the architectural language to create spaces that are open, calm, and accessible.

Materials were selected for their durability, longevity, and ease of maintenance.

Whenever possible, products manufactured in Québec were prioritized to support local expertise and reduce the project’s environmental footprint.

Acoustic treatments also help reduce reverberation generated by ongoing operational activities, while carefully selected finishes and odour-management strategies contribute to creating a clean and comfortable environment.

An Identity Designed to Evolve

Beyond the design of individual sites, VAD Designers d’espaces developed a comprehensive spatial framework to support the expansion of the network across Québec. The framework establishes consistent principles for user experience, materiality, spatial organization, and architectural expression, while remaining adaptable to the specific characteristics of each location.

This balance between consistency and flexibility allows each new site to contribute to a recognizable provincial identity without becoming standardized. The concept can therefore evolve with the network and respond to the realities of different buildings, contexts, and volumes of activity.

Ultimately, Consignaction demonstrates how thoughtful design can elevate the everyday public infrastructure around us. By transforming an everyday environmental action into a simple, dignified, and welcoming experience, the project gives deposit-return locations a new identity and establishes a contemporary architectural model for infrastructure supporting the circular economy.