The face of culture in the 21st century
The iconic shape of the Centre Culturel de Lévis is a unique and signal architecture perceived on the scale of the city. Its elevated position gives a major visibility to the expansion. Its three oriented peaks also allow its integration into the system of perspectives that constitutes the immediate urban fabric, accentuating the visual impact from the peripheral vehicular routes. Multidirectional, the aerial volumetry allows a great permeability and fluidity of the pedestrian trajectories crossing the site from the residential area to the north towards the various institutions that orbit the site. Thus, the cultural center is accessible from the city's administrative offices, the arena, the youth center and the Pointe-Lévy and Champagnat schools in the distance, creating a municipal ecosystem in which the sharing of public spaces and services contributes to citizen life. While the automobile remains the preferred means of travel, the sharing of parking spaces makes it possible to accommodate a larger clientele by using the public space around the Centre for community activities or walking. Located as close as possible to other institutions and creating a clear built environment, the cultural center is visible and easily accessible, encouraging short trips and citizen exchanges.
In support of a necessary material economy strategy, we propose a building that stands out with the grandeur of a single gesture, both in its dimension and symbolism. A monumentality emerges from this geometrical simplicity whose triple-frontal architecture offers an unequalled cultural radiation on 360 degrees. The facades constitute a scenic ribbon whose reading proposes a content and a variable depth. Like the show, these multiple scenes establish a committed relationship between the performance space (interior / architectural) and the reception space (exterior / city). The façade ribbon becomes a place of performance that allows for a simultaneous showcase of the various cultural and human activities it houses. Thus, the cultural vitality of the city becomes the image of the Centre, which, from its promontory position, now projects out onto the road network. Observable from Vincent-Chagnon Street, Alphonse Desjardins Boulevard, and Valère-Plante Street through four visual openings, this new face transforms the existing complex by adding a dominant volumetry. Perceptible to both pedestrians and cars, the new cultural center establishes a manifest civic presence through a gesture that guarantees the durability necessary to public institutions. The new cultural center of Levis projects (literally and figuratively) a welcoming face on the community and encourages access to culture.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
- The rigor of the approach and the excellent understanding of the operation were noted by the jury as well as the obviousness and simplicity of the proposal. The conceptual principles and the symbiosis between structure and architecture also militate in favor of this project.
- The reflection carried out on the acoustic strategy upstream of the functional planning brings a unique and highly controlled solution that meets the performance objectives. This transversal approach brings a lot of coherence and rigor to the concept.
- The proposal offers a relatively flexible planning allowing for several adjustments without altering the essence of the concept.
- The multiple visual breakthroughs, both exterior on the landscape and interior on the different studios, would provoke interactions that promise a rich animation within the complex while ensuring a great interior luminosity.
- The expressiveness and uniqueness of this refined proposal could seduce or disconcert users, but overall, its power remains undeniable. It remains that the exterior cladding, its texture, its color as well as the perforations caused by the openings would condition the perception of the whole. Certain reservations remain regarding the expression of this treatment and the direct views of the dance studios from the exterior.
- The large area of soffit under the cantilevers is a façade in itself that creates promising outdoor spaces (particularly under the west point), but also adds cost to the proposal.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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