metamorphoses
Meta (after, beyond, with) morphe (form)
After the form
The integration of an imposing construction in this shaped site, at the park - boulevard interface, requires the continuation of the changes brought to the natural ground. The simple undulation of the park will be exacerbated, the land will be further deformed to accommodate the volume of the future soccer complex. The mound gains height to house the players' spaces, expands to cover the entrance and the great hall, and unfolds into tiers for spectators at the outdoor field. New mounds appear, the earth is not passive, it visibly supports the building, it embraces it. In response, the parallelepiped containing the essential volume for the game alters its shape in contact with the park. The shell deforms, stretches, like the net of a goal receiving a ball, giving way to secondary functions (the bleachers, the administrative area). The connection is direct, this "morphing" links the building to the site. Boundaries are transgressed, thus favoring interactions.
Beyond the form
Mirroring, the box reflects its environment: the site, the trees and the lake, the sky, the snow, the seasons. Never the same, the changes of aspect challenge us. The façade - screen towards the street gives a perfect reflection of the traffic and the neighborhood. The organic form towards the park is a distorting, playful mirror. This dynamic that we discover in movement gives it a potential of renewal, a sign of perennity, and therefore of sustainable development.
At night, the perception is completely transformed, the light transcends and cuts the forms which have become abstract, the box melts into the darkness.
The form
The formal vocabulary is in direct link with the structural concerns. The undulation of the skin also manifests itself in the roof. The use of a three-dimensional structure formed by two squares allows the height at the cornice to be reduced, while keeping two important trusses in the middle. The height in the center is expressed by a camber, a mound on the roof. The box, suspended over the existing mound, lowers the bi-directional structure of its skin in the northeast corner, to make the bleachers touch the ground and thus link them with the outdoor grounds and park. The rounded movement continues to the southeast corner, to emerge toward the park. This entire facade is closer to the human, its fluidity bringing the scale of the building closer to that of passers-by. The same diamond-shaped configuration is used for the closed walls, to the north and west. The metal skin over the entire shell is dematerialized in places to make way for the transparency of the glazing, arranged in a controlled manner.
With the form
The building is approached in a natural way. The main entrance, visible from both the street and the park, leads us into a vast, well-lit hall. The interior functions are visible at first glance: the immense field, bathed in indirect or direct natural light but sheltered from the sun, is bordered by an atypical distribution: the bleachers towards the park and the spaces for the players towards the street, protected by the mound in which they sink. This segregation of functions allows, in addition to a clear distribution of the circulations, a staging of spectacle, with a frontal public welcoming the actors. The place is magic, the young players - actors become all the more important, their performance is out of the ordinary.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
"An architecture that is seductive and fluid but disappointing in its resolution."
The project proposes a metamorphosis of the rectangular box through the play and undulation of the walls of the facades and the roof. This volumetric study, with its strong identity, has evolved into a beautiful fluidity, except on the Papineau Boulevard side, with a flat, somewhat disappointing façade.
This concept is volumetrically ambiguous as to the guiding principles that generated this form; is it a shell or a box with four (4) different faces and a roof?
This volume is deposited on two (2) mounds; the landscaping is well developed and offers a very good planning of the site, incorporating the notions of sustainable development.
The interior organization proposes interesting spaces including the bleachers on the park side, in a modulation of height going from the highest to the reception area and descending to the outside field. This requires spectators to walk up from the lobby and down to the last blocks of bleachers; bleachers at field level are not a viable solution for game visibility.
This modulation and the resulting structure implies high costs, amplified by interventions on the three (3) sides of the building. The locker rooms would be better located under the bleachers.
The jury wonders about the durability of this concept and its ability to age well, given the white exterior cladding and skylights.
The jury notes that no project offers both the functional solution, the desire for identity, which is clearly mentioned in the program, and the respect of the budget.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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