ENE
The Centre Est-Nord-Est (ENE) is the gathering of a variety of spaces and people dedicated to research and creation in contemporary art. By sharing rooms, offices, and workshops, the center acts as a home, a creative space, and a workspace. We were surprised, during our visit to the site, to note the relationship of proximity that currently exists between the different actors of the center, where the spaces of creation, administration and rest are not separated in a frank way but rather treated in an idea of spatial continuity. This relationship of proximity between spaces of different character and use, which sometimes require to be joined, separated, interconnected, but which nevertheless remain united around the same path, is understood here not as a contradiction but rather as a way of linking all the functions in a relationship evoking more conviviality and familiarity.
ALL AND PARTS
Since the creative process is not a linear one, which is lived only within the four walls of a studio, the gathering of spaces with different qualities and characters allows for a variety of experiences for both the artists and the management of the center, whether it is to offer the choice to rest, to share a meal, to get away in a lounge isolated from other common spaces.
In the present project, all the actors of this environment are gathered around a single central path that acts as the backbone of the project, both access and main interface between the different spaces of the center. More than a simple corridor resulting from a functional optimization of the plan, this central circulation axis links all of ENE's activities in a gesture that guides users from the street to the more intimate spaces on the courtyard side. Initially a signal and reception area near ENE's administrative functions, the central volume expands to lead to the heart of the project, where the kitchen and multifunctional room spaces are gathered, flooded with light and in direct relation with the site's landscaped outdoor spaces.
This idea of spatial continuity seems relevant to create a sense of unity between the different activities that will animate ENE, regardless of the degree of openness or privacy required by each of these spaces.
LANDSCAPES
The proximity of the ENE center to Gaspé Street, as well as its neighbourhood of agricultural and residential land, provides a heterogeneous landscape in the immediate vicinity of the project, in contrast to the more distant views of the St. Lawrence River. This opposition between landscape scales, which is fundamental to the identity of the ENE center, raises the importance of carefully considering the quality of the exterior spaces present on the site, as well as the influence they may have on the interior spaces of the project.
Thus, the compact volume of the ENE center, resulting from a rigorous layout of the program, allows for the development of 3 exterior courtyards on the site. On the street side, the reception courtyard creates a clearance with the house of the sculptor Pierre Bourgault and limits the impression of height of the ensemble, in addition to serving as an access courtyard to the assembly room. At the rear, an intimate courtyard dedicated to gardening is part of the continuity of the multipurpose room; it brings calm and light to the heart of the project, and becomes an extension of the interior spaces for public events. On the west side, a lateral courtyard is accessible from the front of the site and allows for a series of outdoor tables, complementary to the indoor kitchen. The planting of a row of trees in this courtyard, limiting the effect of overheating from the western sun at the end of the day, also acts as a screen with the neighboring property.
Finally, a link to the distant landscape will be offered through an exterior gazebo located in the continuity of the circulation space on the 2nd floor, superimposed on the main entrance, offering a view towards the river and the mountains of the Charlevoix region, at the highest point of the architectural path.
APPROPRIATION
The notion of domestic life in a studio, as experienced by the artists in residence, creates a dynamic between two diametrically opposed characters, creating a contrast with creative potential.
Convivial, secure and intimate, the house evokes the notion of home, the idea of a warm refuge far from reality. It is a pause, a time to stop, to introspect and to rest. It is above all a space that is ours, a shell that we shape in our image. The workshop is a place of creation, fabrication and experimentation. It is a world apart from the world, a refuge filled with creative potential. We find there at the same time the material, the support and the tools necessary to the creation, which all participate by their presence in the composition of a romantic aesthetic; a space shaped in the image of its artist.
This importance of thinking of the architectural space as an opportunity for appropriation by the artists first takes shape in the organization of ENE's main common space, where the kitchen and the multipurpose room are joined. This partially double-height room is surrounded by curtains and removable panels, which allow the space to be subdivided according to the needs of display, luminosity or simply according to the desired ambiance.
This flexibility of use also manifests itself on the floor, where the individual workshops are distinguished by light partitions that allow for changes in surface area, use and number of workshops on the floor. If it is indeed expected that some artists have important needs in terms of space and equipment related to their medium of artistic expression, as the three individual studios on the first floor easily allow, it also seems relevant to offer the possibility of thinking of some of the individual studios as modular spaces or shared by several artists.
(Competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
2.3-NHM
2.3.1 - The jury appreciated the pragmatic and rational approach of the proposal to meet the stated needs with precise control of the means implemented.
2.3.2 - The proposal offers a high probability of full compliance with the allocated construction budget.
2.3.3 - The functional distribution is efficient and economical while optimally meeting the client's needs.
2.3.4 - The alternation of the flat roofs of the various volumes and mainly that of the workshops will facilitate the harmonious integration of the mechanical equipment if required.
2.3.5 - Just like the previous protest. In spite of the qualities mentioned, the architectural proposal does not suggest a particular richness of the site.
2.3.6 - The proposed volumetry is the consistent expression of the plan, but it would have benefited from some softening in its form and materiality. This new architectural presence does not bring the desired poetic concept expressed in the judging criteria nor the hoped for anchoring to the surrounding rural context.
2.3.7 - The integration with the surrounding built environment is unconvincing despite the use of a material that is often present in rural areas.
2.3.8 - The new identity contribution of the building in connection with the ENE organization is strongly questioned.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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