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This rangy station complex has been significantly modified over the years. The initial part of the station was the main trainroom, the ticket hall and exits on rue Lajeunesse, and the tunnel connecting them; since then, additions have included a separate secondary access, a new bus terminal, and even a new platform serving the Laval extension.
The original station is primarily decorated in exposed concrete and shades of terra cotta. The original trainroom, unusually, is built without a transept; the bridge joining the two platforms does not overlook them. Instead, it is connected to the platforms by two flights of stairs on each side.
This crossing is connected directly to the long tunnel and immense stairwell that connects the trainroom to the original ticket hall, serving exits a block away on rue Lajeunesse.
At present, this concourse provides access to a total of four exits, including the STM and STL bus terminals. The ticket hall, however, is rather narrow, as are the tunnels, which can lead to traffic jams at rush hour.
The eastern wall of the ticket hall is decorated with a large composite mural. Made up of 330 concrete blocks decorated by local children, it occupies a whole wall and looks at living, playing, and getting around in the city. It is entitled Les Enfants dans la ville ("Children in the city").
The concourse provides direct access to the two buildings of the STM bus terminal, south of boul. Henri-Bourassa, which also make up the Henri-Bourassa Sud exit. These are modern, fairly conventional glass terminal buildings.
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A second long corridor under boul. Henri-Bourassa connects the ticket hall to the Henri-Bourassa Nord entrance and the STL bus terminal, on opposite sides of one building. The STL terminus entrance is a small glass accessway leading to a row of marquises and a terminal building on the far end of the lot. The importance of the STL bus terminal has been significantly reduced since the opening of the Laval stations, with only a few STL lines terminating here any longer.
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The Henri-Bourassa Nord entrance is integrated into the façade on the other side of the building, facing boul. Henri-Bourassa. It contains a monumental relief sculpture, entitled Le Reveil de la conscience par la solitude ("The awakening of conscience by solitude"). The six massive figures by Jacques Huet are sculpted in concrete. The sculpture serves as a firewall between the entrance and the adjacent government building, and the same figures, reversed, may be seen on the opposite side.
To reduce overcrowding and render the station more accessible to users from the local neighbourhood, a secondary access was constructed on rue Berri immediately to the east of the trainroom, connecting directly to the bridge over the platforms and the central corridor. The modern building features visible concrete beams; the glassed-in ground floor is built as a mezzanine over the control rooms.
This access includes two terra-cotta murals by its architect, André Léonard. One, entitled Les Vents (Winds), is placed over the stairway to the trainroom; the other, entitled Le Potager (The vegetable garden), is just inside the control room. These highly textured murals are assembled from terra-cotta blocks and tubes.
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The most recent addition, and the most significant addition to any existing station since the connection of Jean-Talon station to the blue line in 1986, is the addition of a third platform as part of the extension of the metro into Laval.
This addition accommodates the practice of having trains alternate between continuing to Laval and terminating at Henri-Bourassa during rush hour, thereby helping to relieve congestion on the orange line. Trains terminating at Henri-Bourassa use the existing terminus platform and can switch on the former tail track, as trains continuing to Laval continue through the side track and use the new platform.
To ease transfers for people who take the wrong train, the new platform is built alongside the old trainroom, with two tunnels directly connecting them.
The architects chose to do the new platform in a completely different decorating scheme of slate-grey tiles and stainless steel, to accentuate the newness of the Laval extension. The most striking feature of the platform is the strip of bright orange lights just above the bottom of the trains' windows, startling passengers and emphasizing their arrival. The lights also reflect on the opposite wall and can be seen through the corridors to the other platform.
The decorating scheme also continues into the tunnel connecting the trainrooms to the Lajeunesse ticket hall, to which the new platform is connected via a staircase. At the top and bottom of this staircase are found the two parts of the station's latest artwork, a light sculpture by Axel Morgenthaler entitled .98. Each mural is composed of 98 computer-controlled light fixtures which display constantly shifting patterns of light and colour based on images of nature, as though each mural were a computer monitor of just 98 pixels. These kinetic works serve as beacons and direction signs while attracting the interest of passengers.
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