See you on the gallery
Inspired by the learning street model, this project proposes the creation of an educational pathway throughout the St. Joseph School site. The siting strategy adopted allows the expansion to offer a distinctive and specific street presence to the three arteries surrounding it and to maximize the courtyard area.
On Saint-Aimé Street, the existing school remains unchanged and its original appearance is preserved. This building becomes the civic hub of the project and retains its official status in the heart of the village as well as its civic address.
In continuity with the existing pavilions, the extension extends eastward in a long volume linking the civic pole to the common spaces of the culture and creation pole located in the middle of the lot and extending to the sports pole, developed along St-Luc Street. The learning street connects these poles and offers a series of collective spaces developed around the circulation spaces.
Outside, the link between the poles is provided by a covered gallery and a courtyard along which students and the community are invited to gather or to use this link to cross the neighborhood. Entrances from the gallery provide access to different areas of the school.
The volume of the expansion faces St. Luke's Street to the south. A new access path through the row of large mature trees planted along the street and the playground is laid out and connects the new bus landing to the culture and creation pole located in the heart of the expansion. This pathway becomes the children's masterful entrance to the school on a daily basis.
The location of the expansion on the northern side of the lot allows for a very large portion of the site to be used for a schoolyard and community gardens facing south. The common spaces on the south façade allow for passive solar gain. An undergrowth planted between the extension and this same northern boundary acts as a filter between the school and the adjacent buildings. As a result, the privacy of the residents of the residential sector located just to the north is preserved.
The massing of the project is inspired by the scale of Maskinongé's built heritage and its visual identity, characterized by simple and honest forms and materials, gable roofs and attractive wood covered galleries.
Three reception poles
Civic hub:
- located in the existing building with close ties to the St. Aime Street activities
- houses the administrative and support offices as well as the preschool sector
- opens onto the learning street from the reception area and the main staircase
- houses the kindergarten's planted courtyard and has its own access to all play areas
Culture and creation pole:
- located in the heart of the site and directly connected to the gardens
- houses the workshops (housed in the former gymnasium), dining room, kitchen and stage
- is easily accessible by the community and the daycare service thanks to its multiple direct accesses
- connects the two-level learning street in a fluid and playful way thanks to the bleacher
Sports hub:
- Located at the northeast end of the site
- houses the gymnasium and related sports areas
- is directly accessible from Rue Saint-Luc along the covered outdoor gallery
- allows direct access and views to the outdoor sports field
Learning Street: a playful pathway from kindergarten to grade 6
Preschool sector
It is within the existing school that the little kindergarten students take their first steps into the school world. This building has a welcoming and reassuring scale. Its location at the western end of the site allows it to be slightly isolated and to offer spaces adapted to the youngest children. The locker rooms and classrooms are designed for their size.
At the foot of the staircase linking levels 1 and 2, a fun ramp for play and circulation opens onto the learning street and continues to the east end of the site. It runs alongside the motor development room and also provides access to the courtyard between the existing pavilions and the expansion.
This courtyard is multi-functional and multi-purpose.
It can be used as an outdoor motor development room for preschoolers. A few planted islands animate and green it while leaving a maximum of space to play or learn lessons. Elementary students are also invited to hold classes here.
Primary Sector
Each day begins with a pleasant walk on the gallery for the elementary students. Their locker room area is subdivided by division to provide furniture and storage strategies appropriate to their size and level of independence. From this area, the classrooms are accessible by two vertical links and an elevator.
Most of the classrooms benefit from natural light from the north and views to the undergrowth. Their "L" configuration allows for the development of distinct secondary zones. The double height created by the sloped roof offers the potential to integrate mezzanines in each classroom. Bright collaborative spaces extend into the learning street. The exploded library also occupies these lively and bright circulation spaces.
Outdoor Courtyard Environment
Outdoor spaces are used to their fullest potential to provide a healthy, green environment for students and the community. Inspired by the great landscapes of the St. Lawrence Valley, of which Maskinongé is a part, these spaces offer a variety of meeting, play and discovery areas.
In the southern portion of the courtyard, the river in the valley forms a path of imaginary islands and mounds between which play modules are inserted and where children are invited to explore and take on various physical challenges. The plain, a large open grassy area where large sports games can take place, forms the center of the courtyard. This fertile space is also where the vegetable garden is planted and where students are introduced to market gardening. The Piedmont stratum is inserted into the heart of the site. This slightly elevated area is the covered gallery, from which the children can observe the activities of the courtyard or take advantage of the building's canopy to shelter from the sun. To the north of the expansion is a long undergrowth area planted with the most beautiful species of our Quebec forests, representing the Laurentian Plateau. This space also serves as a bio-retention area and facilitates the infiltration of roof runoff into the soil.
Bus and vehicle landings as well as parking lots are distributed around the site to ensure the safety of students, staff and students' families.
ensure the safety of students, avoid congestion during peak hours, and not encroach on the courtyard space. Pedestrian and bicycle access is also well defined and encourages active transportation.
Sustainable strategies and collaborative vision
The volumetric simplicity and geographic orientation of the expansion meet optimal bioclimatic design conditions and promote the integration of passive systems (maximizing the integration of light and natural ventilation; capturing heat through thermal mass; capturing rainwater to irrigate the vegetable garden, etc.).
The increased use of wood material allows to:
-contribute to the outreach of local industry
-Promote an economical structural system and enhance the value of the wood material by opting for a hybrid structure combining light frame and timber structure
-Selecting simple, healthy and natural insulating and finishing materials
In collaboration with the lab-school team and St. Joseph's school stakeholders, this project aims to create an inspiring, adaptable and inclusive living environment. The entire project team looks forward to making this project a reality with you.
(Competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
STAGE 1:
The merit of this proposal lies in its interesting scale in relation to the context. The siting is well controlled in terms of passive position, protection from winds, east-west axes, sunlight and the use of the courtyard is positive. The outdoor space is very well surrounded by the building, the views are appreciated in the axis of the sidewalks, as well as the transition space of the courtyard. The courtyard space needs to be retained, it remains large, which is positive due to the proposed layout.
We appreciate that the heart is at the kneecap of the project. The jury welcomes the fact that the kindergartens are located in the existing building. The main corridor is a strong focus and is greatly appreciated, but a recommendation will be made to maximize its potential.
The jury appreciated that the materials are simple and local, such as wood. The sobriety in their use is noteworthy.
Recommendations
Integration into the urban context
In terms of the integration of the project into the context and the landscape, the jury asks that the junction between the two parts, the existing and the new, be worked on from the inside out. Similarly, the parking lot at the front should be reviewed. Pedestrian safety should be rethought through the parking lot at the main entrance. The interface between the municipality and the school on all sides of the lot should be worked on and the circulation pattern clearly identified. The jury invites the rethinking of the main entrance on the St-Luc Street side with the arrival of the school children and would appreciate that the parking lots be greened.
Implementation and architectural design
Concerning the layout, the jury asks that the front and back exterior link be favoured. Both the front and the back should be qualified. The strength of the east-west layout gives importance to the courtyard, but it should be improved. There is also a request to make the vegetated courtyard accessible.
There are few issues with the accesses and entrances other than to mark them more according to their respective functions.
Amenities
In terms of functionality, interior-exterior relationships and the contribution of the courtyard, the jury makes a few recommendations. The entrance sequence to the elementary locker room should be reviewed, with its long, dark cul-de-sac. Care should also be taken to ensure that the spaces that will be wet and dry are well managed, so as to facilitate the maintenance of the school and the well-being of those who walk through it. In connection with the main corridor, the jury would like to see openings to the interior garden, the courtyard.
With regard to the architectural expression, volumetry, tectonics and materiality, the jury would like to be convinced of the harmonious integration of the existing and the new. The junction will be critical and the elevations presented at this stage are questioned. The jury asks the competitor to find a principle to adequately address this junction. Finally, it is recommended that the interface of the north façade with the neighbors be worked on.
STAGE 2:
The great strength of the project is its location on the site, which allows for a larger schoolyard. The rather limited footprint articulates well with the sun's path, and the new building protects the schoolyard from high winds. This courtyard is treated with thoughtful and poetic landscape architecture. The concepts presented were thought out with the child in mind, for example, the secret and privileged undergrowth that encourages the discovery proper to childhood. The gallery is a habitable threshold connecting the exterior to the heart of the school, the kneecap between the new construction and the renovated school. Inside, the jury appreciates the pleasant and luminous dining room that opens in a corner towards the courtyard. The learning street is spacious and contains small spaces that the children can use. The elements put in place, such as the bleachers, become games, making this project a fun environment for the children.
In addition, the jury appreciates the following elements:
+ The learning street concept extended throughout the project, from the existing building, through the Honco building (exhibition gallery), to the second floor of the expansion for learning spaces.
+ The use of wood in the interior.
+ The attention to detail in the everyday.
+ The walkway under the trees, which provides an interesting transition to the nearby neighbors.
+ The courtyard in connection with the exhibition corridor.
+ The gymnasium that allows the structure to be discovered.
+ The seriousness of the team in the approach, particularly in their validation of the possible openings of the existing building with the Honco company, was noted by some members of the jury.
However, the jury expressed reservations about the following elements:
+ The materiality of the exterior wood cladding is judged favorably, but raises concerns about its durability and the maintenance required.
+ The lack of continuity in the colonnade at the ends of the project.
+ The overall scale of the project with its more domestic overtones raises concerns for some members of the jury.
+ The preschool classes divided on two levels.
+ The positioning of the administration, which gives access to the preschool classes to visitors who come to the reception desk. In return, the administration is very far from the rest of the primary classes. The rearrangement of the existing space lacks coherence.
+ The layout of the kitchen, which seems ill-suited to accommodate a full group.
Recommendations to the winner
In order to ensure the proper development of the project, the following recommendations are made to the winner:
+ In retaining the exterior wood siding, specify strategies to allow for durability in relation to the courtyard and aesthetic sustainability.
+ Review the redesign of the existing school: group the kindergartens in continuity with the locker room and create a collaborative space for them, ensure easy access to the preschool washroom, group the preschool locker rooms in one location to ensure dry and wet management and bring the administration back to the first floor, closer to the heart.
+ Provide more vertical circulation between the classrooms and the locker room to ensure a smooth flow of students when all classes go to recess at the same time. In the same vein, review the management of 160 students entering the locker room at the same time when returning from recess.
+ Secure the community areas of the school spaces by integrating wet-dry route management for the community that uses the gym and kitchen.
+ Define the outdoor pedestrian route for visitors who would like to use the site as a pedestrian shortcut between St. Aime Street and Rue des Cerisiers.
+ Provide hard surfaces in the schoolyard for ball play.
+ Ensure better tectonic control of the galleries and canopy to unify the proposed architectural languages.
+ Redistribute the amount of front and rear parking spaces to maximize front vegetation and secure the main entrance for pedestrians.
+ Integrate classroom mezzanines into the project's financial package or at least include the structure and anchors required for future mezzanines in the financial package.
+ Match the size of certain spaces to what was requested in the program, for example the preschool classrooms and the sports locker rooms.
+ The kitchen was redesigned to accommodate workshops with groups and to open up more to the dining room. A more generous kitchen island should be included.
+ Prioritize bioclimatic principles such as natural ventilation or other passive systems in the design of mechanical systems.
+ Provide for rainwater management from the roofs as there is no storm sewer.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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