A passage between silence and resonance, past and future, between the forest and the lake.
"portamento" an expressive link between two sounds
In a natural, cultural and imagined landscape, our proposal creates a link between CAMMAC's current needs and transitions and its collective memory. The notion of "tradition" becomes in this framework the reinterpretation of the original built work. Like a "bridge" in music, we re-expose the original theme. Our proposal for the new Music Center is based on the ideas of "exchange", "sharing" and "transmission" that are essential to the musical tradition of CAMMAC. This transmission to future generations is coupled with a concern for sustainable development. These notions become elements as architectural devices and allow us to recognize and reinforce the meaning that exists in the physical, symbolic and temporal relationships of the place and its community. The old building with its veranda, galleries and projections (skylights) on the roof inspired the idea of a passageway, a place of connection and sensory journeys through the landscape. This idea of transition between the interior and the exterior is echoed in the balconies and sun screens on the facade overlooking the lake. The passage (ground floor hall and extensive green roof on the second floor) crosses and articulates the exterior courtyards that border it to link individual and collective spaces, the plant and the mineral. It announces a privileged path from the moment the visitor arrives.
Location : view of the lake and the backyards
Out of respect for the existing landscape and the ecology of the native lakefront system, and to allow more space for outdoor activities, the new building is set back from the existing house. This strategy allows for the incorporation of the Couperin House (renovated into offices) on the courtyard side. The new building is long and parallel to the lake, optimizing views from both sides, while structuring the site in relation to the other existing buildings. The new building emerges from the landscape in response to the echo of the site, interacting with the existing elements, trees, houses, views and topography.
Spatial organization: three components
The building is divided into three parts: 1) the musicians' house, which includes the common spaces, the music studios on the ground floor and the bedrooms on the upper floors, 2) the detached concert hall and 3) the passageway (lobby and foyers). The rooms, distributed over two floors, open onto a living room on each floor with a view of the lake on one side and a view of the forest on the other, with an abstract and vegetal landscape on the roof of the foyer passage (1% art integration). The two rear courtyards along the hall are privileged meeting spaces. Similarly, the terraces and balconies on the lake side are used for small working groups. These courtyards can host outdoor musical events and articulate the interior with the exterior, allowing residents to participate in the changes of the seasons, through the variations of light and color.
Tectonic: wood is essential
Wood, a renewable raw material, seems to us to be the ideal constructive strategy to express the poetry of the place. The structure of laminated beams and posts is apparent to articulate and give rhythm to the different spaces in the main building as well as in the passageway and the concert hall. The structure marks projections towards the lake, in the form of balconies connected to the rooms. The relationship between interior and exterior is expressed on the west facade towards the lake by a light screen structure made of cedar panels that are recycled from the existing building. Some of them are mobile, articulating and creating a variable rhythm, and prevent overheating by solar radiation. The materials are primarily factory pre-painted wood siding, stained reclaimed cedar, and textured stucco over cement panels on the first floor. The east facade towards the courtyards is punctuated by an alternating horizontal and vertical orientation of the wood planks. The metal roof is sloped to open onto the lake.
Environmental issues: Integration of sustainable development principles
Services: energy efficiency and comfort
The building will be used year round. The integrated approach to the proposed mechanical services provides a highly energy efficient system with minimal environmental impact. As a heat source, a geothermal pump uses lake water. The same system can be used for cooling in the summer although we do not believe that air conditioning would be necessary.
For space heating, a radiant system where hot water is circulated through floor slabs on the first floor and radiant panels in the bedrooms. This system provides optimum comfort for the users. For the large concert hall space, which could be used sporadically, a passive solar system that heats without energy cost should be included. The south wall of the hall consists of a Trombe wall assembly including a curtain wall with sealed units filled with transparent insulation, an air space and a masonry wall serving as thermal mass. A radiant system completes the system.
The pre-conditioning of the fresh air is done along a 50 m underground duct connected to a heat exchanger in the basement. Thus, the ventilation air is preheated in winter and cooled in summer. Since the building code requires mechanical ventilation, the distribution system brings conditioned air from the heat exchanger and pulses it into each room at floor level. Exhaust (from bedrooms and bathrooms) is up the walls to the outside when temperature permits and heat recovery is not required or to the basement to transfer heat to the incoming air. The ventilation of the concert hall is by displacement. Pre-conditioned air is heated by fan and hot water coil and distributed to the base of the north wall of the hall. In winter mode, the air is taken in at the top of the wall with variable recirculation according to the need for CO2; in summer mode by the opening of windows in the top of the walls.
The domestic hot water comes from the geothermal pump at 80%, the balance is provided by an electric water heater. The wastewater is sent to a filtering wetland, system available by subcontractor.
Material recovery:
Selective demolition with reuse of framing elements, wood finishing, plumbing fixtures and equipment, electrical equipment etc. For example, cedar planks from the bedrooms are reused in the sunshade panels of the balconies.
The building envelope - energy efficiency and durability:
The envelope provides very high thermal resistance (RSI 5.5 in the walls and RSI 7 in the roofs). The materials used are, for the most part, recyclable and with low intrinsic energy: mineral wool, metal flashing, wood siding. The gypsum board is the main element of the air barrier system; the joints are made of gaskets and sprayed insulation. Vapour control is by appropriate latex paint. Rain control is provided by rainscreen systems on the walls, and a metal roof.
The principles of sustainable development, as applied in this project, aim to minimize the impact of the construction and operation of the building on the environment so as not to mortgage the future of generations to come. This is achieved through energy efficiency, material selection and control of climatic elements to ensure the durability of the envelope. The CBIP program should be considered as a source of funding for a professional to evaluate and develop alternative mechanical system measures.
(From the project presentation text)
JURY
Beyond the architectural form, the jury was pleased with the creativity and inventiveness of the proposed concept. For example, the planning of the assembly functions on a single level allowed for an interesting interrelationship between the users. The jury appreciated the positioning of the concert hall at the rear of the building, the planned garden sub-spaces and the bioclimatic approach. However, the choice of building location and the monolithic language of the "bar" did not convince the jury of the project's integration into the site. This choice gave the impression that the building stood as a border between Lake MacDonald and the back of the site. The proposed architectural treatment also raised many questions.
(From ARQ Magazine #125, p.17)
P004
DESCRIPTION
Renovation or demolition: the budgetary bias
As we mentioned in the conceptual approach presented in the first stage of the competition, the decision between renovating and demolishing a building is always difficult. During the site visit and the meeting with the client, we understood that beyond any sentimental attachment or ecological concern, the decision had to lead to a strict respect of the budget. However, a recent experience of renovation similar to that which could be envisaged for the Cammac music center led us to think that a total or partial restoration of the building could lead to important budgetary surpluses. This assumption was confirmed by the construction manager we consulted. This expert in renovation and restoration estimated that a renovation could increase the construction costs by approximately $800,000. We therefore opted for a new construction whose functional organization, construction budget, massing, architectural language and energy efficiency would remain fully controllable. However, this position does not eliminate the possibility of recovering certain elements of the main building, according to terms that would have to be identified with the client.
A complex in harmony with the natural and built environment
From the outset, objectives were set to promote the integration of the new complex with the existing site and facilities. Thus, the architectural concept developed allows :
To avoid a single volume that would have had a disproportionate visual impact in relation to the other buildings;
Favour the fragmentation of the proposed new volumes;
Favour the creation of visual openings and framing of the landscape, whether from the inside or the outside;
Encourage the creation of exterior / interior spaces (courtyard, covered passage) reinforcing the links between architecture and nature;
To promote views of the lake from inside the complex;
To exploit the volumes and materials present on the site for the design of the new complex.
In order to meet these objectives, the new complex includes three distinct pavilions:
the reception pavilion
the accommodation pavilion;
the music pavilion.
The accommodation pavilion was divided into two wings in order to reduce its volumetric impact. The layout of the new volumes creates two exterior courtyards, one on the side of the reception pavilion, reinforcing the warm and friendly character of the site, the other on the side of the lake. The latter is a space protected from the wind, facing southwest, and offers unlimited potential for outdoor concerts, receptions, etc. The treatment of the volumes plays with transparency, notably in the vestibule and staircase of the reception pavilion, to establish visual percepts on the lake from the reception courtyard.
The accommodation and music pavilions shelter, thanks to their covered galleries, a part of the bordering spaces of these exterior courtyards, thus giving the buildings a protective character. The accommodation pavilion is composed and oriented in such a way as to offer a view of the lake to more than 80% of the rooms. The reception and music pavilions are both oriented to maximize the views of the lake. The dining room and its veranda can open up to the outdoor courtyard towards the lake during the summer.
The layout of the pavilions was designed to avoid cutting down trees as much as possible. In addition, in order to alleviate the application of regulations on new buildings, a firewall was provided between the music pavilion and the rest of the complex, making this pavilion a separate entity. The reception and music pavilions will be a steel structure on a concrete foundation while the accommodation pavilion will be a wood frame construction.
White painted pine siding, punctuated by painted fiber cement panel surfaces that will highlight certain technical spaces, was chosen to match the existing buildings. Most of the windows will be made of aluminum-clad wood (color to be determined with the client) while the columns, slats and sunshades will be made of stained wood. The roofs will be asphalt shingles, except for the slightly sloped roofs of the concert hall and the reception pavilion, which will be covered with elastomeric membrane.
Climatic treatment
The roof configuration of the accommodation pavilion was designed to promote ventilation (natural or mechanical) of the second floor rooms, which face south. The windows on the lower levels are equipped with sunshades or laths to reduce thermal gains.
The music pavilion is generously fenestrated on the west side and has sunshades and a large roof overhang to limit heat gain. Interior wood panels act as sunshades in the open position and provide light and sound control in the closed position. The sliding exterior doors of the concert hall as well as the side windows allow for natural ventilation of the space. However, due to the heat gain caused by the windows, the lighting and the occupants, we have provided mechanical air conditioning for the concert hall.
The Sound of the Wind, the Voice of the Trees - Integrating the Arts with Architecture
The conceptual approach that was proposed at the beginning of the selection process was entitled "the sound of the wind, the voice of the trees". This allegory, which was intended to be a link between nature and music, seems to us to be a major source of inspiration for the integration of a work of art into architecture. Like a field of sounds, an artist's installation could be conceived under the colonnade of the lodging pavilion, adjacent to the reception courtyard. There are many ways to translate this link between music and nature. For example, one can think of suspended hollow wooden cylinders and metal gongs that, moved by the wind, would create a light sound. Obviously, it would be up to the artist to develop this very inspiring concept.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Beyond the architectural form, the jury was pleased with the creativity and inventiveness of the proposed concept. For example, the planning of the assembly functions on a single level allowed for an interesting interrelationship between the users. The jury appreciated the positioning of the concert hall at the rear of the building, the planned garden sub-spaces and the bioclimatic approach. However, the choice of building location and the monolithic language of the "bar" did not convince the jury of the project's integration into the site. This choice gave the impression that the building stood as a border between Lake MacDonald and the back of the site. The proposed architectural treatment also raised many questions.
(From ARQ magazine, # 125, p. 17)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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