Ice Box Challenge Montreal - 2025
The Ice Box Challenge came to Montreal for the first time on July 10th, 2025, and the teams were ready to take on the challenge after months of hard work! We are delighted to have been able to sponsor this edition and to have provided our software for the design of the ÉTS team's structure.
For those unfamiliar with this competition, it involves designing and building a structure in which an 805.5 kg block of ice is placed. The goal is to limit the melting of the ice over a three-week period. The winning team will be the one whose ice block has the largest remaining volume, among other criteria. This competition is particularly relevant today, as it highlights solutions to a number of societal and environmental problems. Whether it's pollution, energy consumption, or the housing crisis, this competition is a real eye-opener.
Founded in 2007, this is the second time the competition has been held in Canada, the first having taken place in Vancouver in 2017. It is also the second university edition of the competition, the first having taken place in early summer 2025 in Sweden.
Cadwork was used in the 2019 Ice Box Challenge held in Melbourne, Australia, as our client CarbonLite used our software to model its structure.
For this edition of the Ice Box Challenge Montreal 2025, two university teams and the Bâtiment Passif Québec (BPQ) team are participating:
The ÉTS and Concordia structures were designed by the student clubs of their respective universities. Modeling in the cadwork 3D module allowed the Habitek team to make the best technical decisions based on the materials used and to take care of the details necessary for passive or energy-efficient construction. The model also made it possible to list all the required materials and draw up precise assembly and installation plans. Nothing was left to chance, and the exercise demonstrated the advantages of using a high-performance design and manufacturing tool such as cadwork.
As for the BPQ team, the structure was designed according to the Quebec Construction Code and not according to passive construction criteria. This made it possible to compare these two types of construction with very different criteria.
Here are some of the characteristics that each building had to have:
- Volume: (2.5 m x 2.5 m x 2.5 m)
- Installation of a window
- Accessibility of materials
- Maximum budget of $10,000
How cadwork was used during the modelling and prefabrication of Habitek's structure
The evaluation criteria for the 2025 challenge were as follows:
- Amount of ice preserved
- Reuse (present what will be done with the box after the competition. Examples: urban chicken coop, urban refrigerator, etc.)
- Aesthetics and originality
The teams decided to include the criterion of reuse of structures in the challenge. Indeed, at a time when environmental footprint is an issue and must be taken into consideration, it was important for the organizers to add this criterion.
The three structures were located in Montreal's Old Port, on Place du Génie, starting July 10th, 2025.
During the competition
Montreal enjoyed a very hot and sunny July. This was perfect for the teams participating in the Ice Box Challenge Montreal 2025 to push their constructions to the limit.
https://www.meteomedia.com/fr/nouvelles/meteo/saisons/quand-lete-tombe-dans-la-demesure-au-quebec
We were fortunate enough to be able to monitor the challenge remotely thanks to sensors that were integrated into each team's structures. This allowed us to track the temperature (both inside and outside) as well as the humidity inside the structures. As we can see below, on the last day of the challenge, we had an outside temperature of 29.8 degrees Celsius and an inside temperature of 27.1 degrees Celsius for the structure built according to Quebec building codes. As for the two passive buildings, Habitek's had an internal temperature of 6 degrees Celsius, while Concordia's was 3.8 degrees Celsius. Finally, we observed that the temperature remained between 3 and 5 °C throughout the challenge for the energy-efficient structures.
July 17, 2025 - via Habitek's Instagram account
17 juillet 2025 – via Habitek's Instagram
July 29, 2025 – Statistics via sensors (provided by the Habitek team)
Announcement of results
We finally met on July 31 for the grand announcement of each team's results. The jury members were a total of three, ranging from professors, teachers, to architects.
In last place was the Passive House Quebec team, whose structure was built in accordance with Quebec building code regulations. Their ice block melted after only ten days in their structure.
Finally, Habitek and Concordia finished on the podium with a tie score. Although the Concordia team finished with a greater amount of ice remaining in its structure, ÉTS stood out for the reuse, aesthetics, and originality of its structure.
In conclusion
Cadwork is proud to have been able to showcase the possibilities offered by its software and to demonstrate its commitment to innovation and change. This was an opportunity to offer concrete solutions to the generation that is starting or will soon start their professional careers. This challenge is a gateway to rethinking how buildings are constructed, not only in Quebec, but around the world. Pollution, energy consumption, and the housing crisis are all issues we will face in 2025. In fact, Montreal was among the most polluted cities in the world a few weeks ago with forest fires across Canada. Offering optimal airtightness, passive construction therefore allows for limited exposure to toxins from fires and smog in the air.
The use of electricity is also a challenge. Whether it's keeping things cool, as we saw with this challenge, or keeping warm during our cold winters, passive construction offers a solution. The following statistic is revealing: 64% of Quebecers own an air conditioner and/or a heat pump. It is therefore understandable that using electricity to power these machines comes at a price: “Nationally, on an annual average basis, consumers paid 3.8% more for electricity in 2022 than in 2021.” In 2025, Hydro-Québec announced an increase in the cost of electricity because demand exceeds what the company can offer without making new investments. (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2146171/tarifs-hydro-quebec-electricite-2025)
Finally, the housing crisis has been a hot topic for several years now. Building structures that allow for better management of time and manufacturing costs is even more important today. Considering prefabricated houses, as the Habitek team has done with its structure, would minimize costs, labor, and construction time. It is a solution for building better and faster to counter this crisis.
Taking all this into account, it is clear that this challenge was much more than just a university project; it was a real step towards collective awareness. The entire cadwork team is confident about the future and the competitive advantages that can be gained thanks to its software, which communicates with the CNC machines used in the field.
The City of Montreal did not hesitate to join in by placing a sign on the Habitek structure with the following message:
“The City of Montreal is not standing idly by in the face of climate change!”
Listen to the testimony of Sébastien Jacquet, lecturer at ÉTS and head of the Ice Box Challenge Montréal 2025:
Ice Box Challenge Montreal - 2025
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