[6] The current building, which opened in 1989, surrounds Shaughnessy House and was designed by Peter Rose, in collaboration with Phyllis Lambert and Erol Argun.

The historic Shaughnessy House, located at 1923 Dorchester Street West (today René Lévesque Boulevard), was built in 1874 according to plans by William Tutin Thomas.

The CCA building, with a surface area of roughly 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft), is home to exhibit halls, the Paul Desmarais Theatre, a bookstore, the library, and a study centre in the Alcan Wing.

[8] The work of conservation and restoration of Shaughnessy House, with a floor area of over 1,900 square metres (20,000 sq ft), was carried out under the direction of Denis Saint-Louis.

[8] Due to its size, location and use of traditional and modern materials, combining structural aluminum with grey Montreal limestone, the CCA building's architecture blends past and present.

Its landscapes, including the CCA sculpture garden facing the building on the south side of René Lévesque Boulevard, were designed according to the ecology of each location.

Located in between René-Lévesque Boulevard and the Ville-Marie Expressway, it is a park, Esplanade Ernest Cormier, in an area of heavy traffic and is at the edge of a cliff.

The park contains a set of sculptures that depict aspects of architecture, and include a reproduction of the base of the facade and size of Shaughnessy House.