Our project to transform the Agora des Arts has two main objectives: to create a real street presence for the organization and to preserve the architectural integrity of the Notre-Dame-de-Protection church, a significant historical legacy for the community. Rouyn Noranda has a remarkable cultural life, full of inventiveness and dynamism, and the Agora des Arts is undeniably one of its main vectors. However, in its current form, the hall has no street presence and does not give any indication of its activities. Our project aims above all to create a more dynamic exchange between the institution and the public space.
A showcase for culture
Our very first move was to place the new foyer on the first floor, directly at the entrance, and to give it the amplitude it deserves. The original "basement" of the church opens onto the street and becomes the new first floor of the Agora. The triangular shape of the addition maximizes the surface in direct relation to the city. The morphology responds in this sense to the continuity of the facades on the other side of the street, recreating an urban condition of vis-à-vis. This long street frontage becomes an attractor, a real showcase for the Agora. Thus, in all the moments of floating that revolve around the show itself - the arrival, the intermission, the exit - the spectators will be able to spend a moment in direct relation with the city, enjoying a unique point of view at the same time on the street, on the open interior courtyard to the east, on the wooded side courtyard to the west, but also, paradoxically, on the church itself that is no longer hidden. At the heart of the foyer, the café, which also operates outside of performance hours, ensures constant activity in the hall and the inner courtyard garden. Combining the functions of a café with those of a reception and ticket office, it acts as a condenser favoring the meeting of visitors, creators and the public in general.
Enhancement of the church
The Notre-Dame-de-Protection church, in all its simplicity, has the merit of having a clear volumetry. By limiting the addition to a single floor, our proposal puts forward an architectural strategy that preserves the reading of the pure form of the church. To achieve this, the vertical circulations were placed inside the existing volume, eliminating the visual noise that their presence outside would have caused. The addition then becomes a pure volume, a simple skin delimiting a bare space inviting appropriation. The new construction extends the existing architectural line that delimits the concrete foundation and the brick facades of the church. By never transgressing this boundary, the intervention is limited to the part with less architectural value and does not compromise in any way the integrity of the existing brick facades. The addition is thus harmoniously and coherently connected to the existing building. Its triangular form extends towards the sidewalk and tapers towards the church to open up the views from Murdoch Street and frame a more intimate courtyard between the foyer, the church and the rectory garden.
The spatial sequences
While the grand exterior staircase was demolished to make way for the new first floor entrance, the idea of circulation along the central axis of the church was retained and reinforced. A new spiral staircase, placed inside the church in the axis of arrival, allows a scenographed entrance where one crosses the glazed foyer, enters the enclosure of the church, and then takes the grand staircase that leads us to the hall. This spatial sequence is magnified by a double height that extends lengthwise, from the facade of the church to the staircase, visually connecting the foyer with the upper landing that serves the hall. The resulting expansion extends dramatically through the bell tower, which is completely hollowed out and ends with a skylight that reveals the underside of the bell tower itself. This dramatic space, all in verticality, bathed in the zenithal light of the shaft and the windows punctuating the tower, constitutes a strong moment of the experience. At night, the bell tower is transformed into a signal lantern animated by the light emitted by the agora's activity.
An open foyer on multiple levels
The foyer is an open and porous space, allowing free flow of circulation around the central core formed by the foundation wall of the bell tower and the reception and coffee counter. One can thus move from the hall to the foyer, to the garden and back to the foyer, in a continuous flow. We imagine this space as a place of meeting and exchange, but also as a place of diffusion, a form of extension of the hall itself.
On the second floor, the extension of the foyer is generous enough to ensure fluid circulations. The large double height ensures a formal and visual connection between the foyer and the hall. The large window placed in the former entrance door, thus right in the axis, allows both the distribution of generous light inside and the view towards the new green roof and the city. The circulation aisles bordering the double height allow views down to the activity of the foyer below. At the rood screen level, a small lunette is cut into the wall separating the well room from the bell tower. The curious observer will discover a view of the Glencore factory and its famous chimneys, framed by the original rood screen.
The Hall
For us, the beauty of the church's interior lies in the large volume that unfolds beneath its barrel vault. In order to allow this surface to express itself in all its purity, we propose to remove all decorative elements (plinths, moldings, capitals) and to allow the church to express the simple beauty of the round arch. From a chromatic point of view, the same logic applies and the entire original interior is expressed as a plain pale surface allowing for a better appreciation of its pure and synthetic form.
The transition from the formal logic of the hall to that of the stage is made on a clear plane determined by the face of the first two columns present at the front of the stage. The columns are retained, painted black, and the stage curtains are passed in front of them to make them virtually invisible. The second pair of columns in the center of the stage is eliminated at little cost with two simple transfer beams. The clearance of the stage gives greater flexibility of use. These new beams also allow the space above the stage to be transformed into a true rectangular stage cage with full height clearance.
The multi-purpose nature of the hall makes it necessary to have both natural lighting and total darkness.
To achieve this, a double layer of opaque panels mounted on rails serve as occlusion devices by sliding in front of the side windows. These panels also have an acoustic calibration function. A first panel composed of a reflective material is lined with a second panel of an absorbent nature. By sliding these planes in the space, it is possible to modulate the acoustics of the room and to vary the reflection and absorption. A few arches in the ceiling along the circulation aisles were also eliminated in order to limit certain unwanted sound reflections.
Materiality
The material palette used throughout the project emphasizes simplicity and complementarity with the existing building. Wood, glass and concrete are all materials already found in the church.
The addition is designed as a light and largely transparent volume made of wood and glass. The glass extends from the floor to the ceiling, giving the impression of a pure, unified volume, whose appearance changes constantly depending on the time of day and the climate. Reflection effects are accentuated by the use of curved glass at each corner of the volume.
All structural elements of the foyer are made of wood. The curtain wall mullions, made of architectural glulam, act as vertical load-bearing elements. The underside of the cross-laminated slabs making up the roof structure is left exposed and becomes the finished ceiling integrating lighting and other technical elements. The profusion of wood, a material associated with the north, contributes to the warm and encompassing atmosphere of the home.
On the ground level, a new continuous concrete floor runs through the main floor from one end to the other. The exterior stone dust floor is a natural extension from the exterior to the interior. The floor on the second floor is made of dark stained wood, a softer, acoustically rich surface. The new floor structure of the hall would remain in wood, but would be constructed to meet the acoustic requirements (sound and vibration).
A new potential
We propose a gesture that, while respectful and harmonious to its context, does not fail to be strong and resolutely contemporary. The tight angles, the curved glass, the fully exposed wood structure... all these elements contribute to make the project a unique and remarkable architecture. But beyond the form, we firmly believe that the addition, by creating the extension of the activities to the street, opens up a whole new urban and programmatic potential. It is in this potential - which is waiting to be seized - that lies the power to transform the Agora des Arts and its relationship with the public and ultimately, with the city.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
2.2- CGA/PF
2.2.1- The proposal to keep the central access to the church and to magnify it is a commendable and respectful approach that recognizes the sacred character of the original building.
2.2.2- The proposed new volume of the façade respects the volumetric proportions of the church. However, the proposed treatment and materiality contrast sharply with that of the church, creating a certain fracture with the existing building.
2.2.3- The proposed architectural treatment seems to be more appropriate for a domestic scale building than for a public one.
2.2.4- The proposal to use a curtain wall with mullioned windows risks reducing the transparency of the new volume and thus weakening its integration with the church.
2.2.5- The triangular shape of the new hall is perplexing as to its relevance and optimization. It brings more constraints of use than benefits.
2.2.6- The proposal contains some functional and technical clumsiness that weakens its admissibility.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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