The community of Pierrefonds-Roxboro is already evolving rapidly and all indications are that it will evolve even more and necessarily transform itself. The new library, with its striking facilities, will pave the way for this dynamic change.
Nature, in all its components, and social structures are dynamic. They undergo the rhythm of changes and successions. The theory of the "dynamic mosaic" of ecosystems refers to the efficient use of resources by any element for its ecological development and flourishing. This theory also explains that the development of the territory of the man develops like a living organism, and that thus, the transformation of the cities as well as that of the forests takes a fractal form. Every community is composed of several small communities, every space of several small spaces, every ecosystem of several small ecosystems. Every forest is composed of groves, clearings, the canopy and the forest floor, all small ecosystems in themselves, pieces of a mosaic, similar to each other through their various scales.
We have interpreted your city, your quadrangle, your site, your proposed building, all its spaces and functions, in terms of a "dynamic mosaic," a natural incubator of ideas, at work. The library project absorbs and projects this natural principle of transformation, providing an opportunity to consolidate the site's public identity and develop a civic space, innovative and worthy of the name. The library will be adaptable, with a versatile and flexible infrastructure, its different spaces with varied and dynamic uses. We have designed a profoundly public space, conducive to multiple uses and installations, an evolving and productive place, a mesh between library, park, and natural processes. We have already addressed the thematic complexity of the project through an internal integrated design process, working from the beginning with a mechanical engineer, a biologist, a landscape architect, a civil engineer, a specialist in natural and artificial lighting, and a graphic designer.
Through a bold planning, the library opens towards the heart of the civic quadrangle, using transparencies for integration, letting the Millennium Park penetrate towards the two central courtyards.
A skyway connects the forest with the Richmond Garden, and the landscape is filled with fertile trees and bushes, vectors of pollination and renewal, an edible landscape accessible to all.
The site, as an extension of the footprint of the new building, integrates the surrounding setting into its productive field. According to us, the artwork can be found in the immediate productive landscape, with the themes of "dynamic mosaic" and "productive nature: a living, transformative, but permanent work.
The landscape penetrates each facade of the library through landscaped courtyards to the north, south, east and west. These courtyards punctuate the extremities of the agora deployed in perpendicular axes, articulating the 4 vital poles identified in the program: the biotopes of creation, training, socialization and 'gamification'. Thus, the agora, both focal and extended, generates complex and desirable interactions. The spaces dedicated to children and adults are distributed on either side of a diagonal at the intersection of the two axes, while the areas designed for teenagers are perched above this intersection, just a little apart, thus extending the agora upwards.
As an instrument of civic interaction, the first floor is cleared and becomes a large, hyper-flexible, open-plan space, evoking a free and natural structure, an ecosystem in transformation. The office spaces are raised above the teen area, the DCSLDS spaces above the offices. The whole is covered by a rooftop garden terrace, a bright green ornament, located at the top of the agora and at the end of an ascending ribbon, dotted with gardens and stretching from City Hall to the highest floor of the library. The transparency and permeability of the first floor is thus made possible by lifting these program elements into a small tower, which at the same time becomes a civic signal, offering views over the entire site.
Following the principle of natural resource reuse efficiency, we recycle the structural skeleton of the existing building, reinterpreting its geometry and grammar. The meshing of the new building with the existing structure results in a comprehensible spatial organization for the entire site. The building becomes a crucible for the interaction of natural forces, structured by steel and wood materials.
The building will be distinguished by various technical features: a durable, robust and high-performance envelope, an energy efficiency inspired by the most rigorous passive concepts, a choice of systems favouring simplicity of operation and long-term maintenance, and an exemplary air quality, tempered by the forest and the earth. From inside the library, access to light and the omnipresent landscape will be privileged; light generating energy as much as it animates the spirit.
Designed for future generations, for a world we can only predict, this library is designed first for people. A place as much for simple communion with others, in person, in real time and space, as for participatory, co-creative, and eventually economic activities. It is a place where librarians will no longer demand silence and will become facilitators helping to change their community, one talent at a time, a place where all can create, for each creator and each creation is like a book to be read, an idea to be passed on.
This third place will house a community that continues to build and learn about itself. This learning will be disruptive and at first we will not recognize it. Information of all types, will come in all shapes and sizes, but mostly there will be spaces to wander, talk, think manipulate and, of course, read. The dynamic agora, the landscaped courtyards, the spaces between the programmed areas, will be places of experimentation, fertile spaces for the development of new ideas.
In this place, librarians will have seen the future of knowledge, which is not only in digital technologies, but also in manufacturing of all kinds, with three-dimensional printers, laser cutting, soldering irons, power tools to deconstruct appliances, musical instruments, laboratories for prototypes and help. It is an intelligent library, with interactive surfaces in several places, an ecosystem for living together, and for doing together. A library where the need to develop, convey and transmit knowledge and culture in all its forms has been considered.
It is a library where the need to support civic activities, community partnerships such as NPOs, NGOs, arts and cultural groups, employment centers, public policy think tanks, and any community organization requiring a simple and accessible space has been considered.
Finally, it is a library where the need to support a creative and joyful regard for the natural, a simple need for happiness, sunshine, air, greenery, views, and a sense of belonging within as well as outside its walls has been considered. Like a new social catalyst, the Pierrefonds Library will help to make real a community's responsible, optimistic and even commitment to its future generations.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
- The openness of this project to its environment is appreciated.
- The playful concept presented is interesting.
- The vision statement is not found in this project.
- The intention to put all user services on the same level is appropriate. However, access to the other functions contained in the tower is complicated. The tower appears as a signage element in which the integration of complementary uses has been forced and seems to put the interior courtyard in the shade for much of the day.
- The presence of four entrances makes the operation of the library unmanageable.
- Understanding the spaces is difficult and their configuration creates isolation of many areas.
- Some flexibility in space is possible.
- The DCSLDS offices on the 4th floor are clearly a non-starter.
- The measures applied to achieve LEED Gold certification are technically interesting.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
24 scanned / 21 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Axonometric Drawing
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Section
- Elevation
- Axonometric Drawing
- Schema
- Schema
