The PERCHED POTAGER
Located on a site hemmed in by the railroad and the backyards of numerous residential lots, the school is accessible only by Murray Street to the south, and through Jean-Dallaire Municipal Park to the northeast. It is in relation to its only two public interfaces that the new school redefines itself by proposing a volumetry and new facades that requalify its reception areas, as well as its influence on its neighbourhood and its exterior spaces. The architectural party is broken down into three scales of intervention: the neighbourhood; the school; the classroom.
At the neighbourhood level, the school and its new square are a true community hub, offering a major place to sustainable development and innovation. Located at the intersection of the main entrance, the kindergarten yard and the schoolyard, the square becomes a real place of convergence and meetings for children, parents, neighbors and the community.
The U-shaped form of the two-storey building opens to the south and Murray and Millar streets, but also to a large vegetable garden on the roof of the new kindergarten building. At once an urban landmark, a symbol of symbiosis with nature, food autonomy and a social project, the vegetable garden and the new facades bring the school closer to the street and coherently redefine the entire site.
Facing south, the vegetable garden is clearly visible from the street and marks the ecological and community character of the place. Its access is controlled, easily accessible by the holistic space whose steps lead us directly to it. An elevator, a greenhouse and the underlying kitchen optimize the efficiency of this food core. Its management is shared by the school and its students, as well as by a committee of parents and residents. Its location offers many opportunities: a specialized school program, various educational activities, a green classroom on the roof, alternative routes linking the school's wings, a place for exchanges between different cultural communities.
On the scale of the SCHOOL, the new wings unite with the existing part to form a central wooded garden that benefits students of all cycles. This includes the outdoor classroom, a covered terrace connected to the dining room and double gymnasium, and recessed areas for rest and reading. All around the garden are common areas and circulation areas with lots of glass, bringing sunlight, nature and the seasons into the heart of school life. These frequent contacts with the garden and its large trees contribute to the understanding of the place, to the orientation, as well as to the richness of the atmosphere of the school.
The main entrance and the daycare service, the kitchen and the dining room, the holistic space and the bleachers are all located in continuity with the forecourt. This proximity of collective functions to the front yard favours the holding of a multitude of activities and community events, both outside on the front yard and inside.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
6 scanned / 6 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
