Les Trois Moulins School
The school Les Trois Moulins, in its form, its materiality, its accessibility and in the program it proposes, is a response to the aspirations and needs of Maskinongé. It embraces the choice to modernize the central role of the school in the integral development of the child and in the improvement of the living environment.
The key elements of the proposed program are: three main pavilions, a transition and distribution core, a structuring axis, as well as a large courtyard regrouping natural and landscaped areas, equipment and sports, recreational and creative spaces. The scale and the implantation of the buildings are on a human scale and respectful of the surrounding urban environment. Noble and distinctive materials such as wood and steel are used and the form is inspired by traditional architectural language. The exterior-interior relationship is treated in such a way as to promote transition, permeability and contact with nature. The spaces are flexible and designed on the scale of the children.
The project offers two accesses: one from Saint-Aimé Street on the west side and one from Saint-Luc Street on the east side. The western access faces the existing St. Joseph School. Its entrance has been enhanced by generous windows that open onto the landscape, as well as a levelling that ensures greater fluidity with the surrounding context. The eastern access leads to the main entrance of the school which faces the courtyard and Saint-Luc Street. This entrance arises from the intersection of the two new pavilions and the continuity of the structuring axis linking the two accesses. It is through this entrance that the students arrive at the transitional core. The vegetated area bordering the site and the school yard create transitional thresholds that accompany the students on their journey. All accesses are equipped with spaces to accommodate motorized vehicles and bicycles.
The main courtyard facilities are organized in continuity with the structuring axis and they echo the activities that take place inside. Thus, the indoor socialization areas are open to the outdoor play and socialization modules and the gymnasium opens to the outdoor sports field. Play areas are integrated into the natural vegetation zones. They allow children to discover, become aware of and strengthen their connection with nature. Overall, the layout, shape and materiality of the outdoor spaces allow the children to strengthen their social ties while allowing for individual activity, motor skills and creativity. They are also adapted to winter conditions in order to maintain a diversity of activities in all seasons.
The transitional core is an open, double-height, fully windowed space. It acts as an interface between the exterior and the interior and as a distribution hub for the students in the school. A monumental staircase inhabits it and integrates broken down locker rooms, away from the circulation. An access located on the first floor gives onto a protected terrace dedicated to the outdoor classroom.
The pavilion for the primary classes is located to the north of the main courtyard. The heart of the first floor is occupied by the large dining room and the exploratory kitchen. A vertical vegetable garden and an opening to the outdoors where a garden is located enhance the program of this open space, increasing opportunities for learning, collaboration and food discovery.
The first floor of the pavilion houses the three primary cycles. Access to the classrooms is through the learning street, which is filled with workstations, libraries, reading and socializing areas. It is abundantly fenestrated, offers a visual permeabilitý on the main courtyard. A strong architectural gesture, reminiscent of the large chimneys present in the mills, forms visual landmarks demarcating the three cycles of the primary school. These chimneys, which are also skylights, integrate collaborative spaces and contribute to natural ventilation. The classrooms are arranged in pairs on the north side of the building. Their windows are controlled and removable walls give flexibility in the configuration and use of the spaces.
The structure of the pavilion is a light wood frame with load-bearing walls, beams and roof trusses. Glulam load-bearing elements were strategically positioned to facilitate open areas and minimize the impact on the foundation.
To the west of the courtyard is the sports pavilion, a building of simple structure and lines. Its gymnasium is bright and open to the exterior and its landscaped spaces. The use of scissor roof trusses consolidates the recall to heritage built forms.
The existing "Honco" building continues the structuring axis towards the Saint Aimé Street entrance. The addition of a light wood frame framework allows for the construction of storage and a large mechanical room on the north side of the axis. On the south side, human-scale ceilings facilitate the integration of a recording room, arts and language workshops open to light and nature.
The existing St. Joseph's School is converted to accommodate the preschool, locker rooms, teacher spaces and a large motor development room with bleachers. This garden level room opens onto an outdoor courtyard whose intimacý is created by a level treatment. The positioning and characteristics of this one allow a multipurpose use, both internally and for community activities. The preschool space is located on the second floor.
The architectural, structural and mechanical solutions have been carefully studied and adapted to each other, respecting the desired programmatic objectives, the site conditions and keeping in mind the ease of future adaptation.
The new buildings are supported on conventional concrete foundations buried to the depth of frost. Due to the low bearing capacity of the existing soils, the structural grids were optimized to minimize the loads on a single point of support.
The load-bearing axes are positioned to minimize the thickness of the structure in the traffic axes and to make them the preferred paths for the distribution of the mechanics in the ceilings. Acoustics and vibration control are ensured by the installation of an uncoupled concrete screed on the wood floors which will also act as a thermal mass for the radiant heating and cooling system provided in the mechanicals. The choice of materials adapted to the use of the building also allows for the control of acoustics.
Bioclimatic is taken into account in all aspects of the project. Natural light, ventilation and air conditioning are favored. Electromechanical solutions complement the overall design. The excellent performance of the building envelope makes it possible to propose smaller capacity systems, less expensive to operate and less costly during construction. Occupant comfort is ensured by the integration of radiant floors and displacement ventilation. These are the two most comfortable HVAC distribution methods according to ASHRAE 55.
Our choices have been guided by the need to promote: children's development and health; simplicity of construction, operation and maintenance; flexibility and interaction of spaces; and cost control at the time of construction and over time.
Children and the community are our ultimate customers. They are increasingly aware of the quality of their environment and the importance of healthy living. Les Trois Moulins school is destined to become a central facility for their development. It must be an example of sustainable development and an adapted and accessible lever for the education and development of the Maskinongeois.
(Competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
STAGE 1:
This proposal is based first on a bolder design and interesting composition. The layout is quite clear between the classrooms, the sports wing, the other common spaces and the original building. The jury appreciates the central axis which contributes to the life of the school.
The jury recognizes the simplicity of the project and emphasizes the importance of light in the plans. The dining room and kitchen as well as the gathering and collaboration spaces are particularly interesting. The jury commends the strategy of anti-classrooms judiciously positioned between the classrooms that open onto each other.
The other merit of this proposal is that it offers a microclimate in the morning, and another in the afternoon, both of which allow for successful cultivation.
Recommendations
The jury questions certain aspects of integration, context and landscape. As the gymnasium divides the space into smaller landscapes, it would be appropriate to question how these spaces will be used. Also, would it be appropriate to expand them on the St-Luc Street side? The jury questions the parking lots that surround almost all the facades and unfortunately eat into the green spaces. Competitors are invited to review their strategies with regard to parking areas.
Concerning the entrances and accesses, the competitors are invited to redefine the entrance on the side of St-Aimé street and to ensure the relation between the administration and the main entrance for a better control of the accesses. The student entrance should be marked and a functional sequence for the locker rooms should be ensured to manage wet and dry. In its upcoming performance, the finalists will need to establish a relationship of the gym to the community, to allow for ownership. How will they access the gym from the school lobby? The reworked gymnasium layout would promote east-west transparency.
For the plan layouts and relationships between spaces, the jury invites clearer identification of the locker room strategy in relation to the publication of the School Lab. The identity of the learning street should also be strengthened.
The spatial relationships between the entrance and administrative needs and the positioning of the kindergartens should be completely revisited. Despite the interest in redeveloping the existing building, the budgetary feasibility of interventions on it should be validated. Finally, it would be important to think of reducing the distances in the movements from the kitchen to the courtyard.
With regard to the volumetry, tectonics and materiality, the jury would like to ensure that the architecture of the volume of Part B respects the human scale and that the interior ambiances are well defined.
STAGE 2:
The jury appreciates the conceptual aspect of this proposal that creates a historical reminder anchored to its setting by the three chimneys that designate the collaborative spaces. The vision of the project presented by the team has many social qualities and generates a unifying project for the community. Access to the shared spaces is well thought out to accommodate the citizens of Maskinongé outside of school hours. The jury also appreciates the clarity of the plan: the large axis connecting the two entrances facilitates the reading of the project thanks to an adequate distribution of the functions (preschool, school and sports wings). Finally, the jury salutes the ecological and bioclimatic qualities of the project, which are in line with expectations and constitute an innovation in the school world.
In addition, the jury appreciates the following elements:
+ The cross-cutting dining room, bright and connected to the outside.
+ The use of the retention basin.
+ The space dedicated to the preschool.
+ The judicious reuse of the Honco building as a connector element of the project and a place for workshops.
+ The development of the courtyard from stage 1.
+ The positioning of the daycare service, which facilitates access for parents to leave in the evening.
However, the jury has reservations about the following elements:
+ The scale of the project and the volumetric legibility.
+ The location of the vegetable gardens, which is not optimal for their use.
+ The spread out implantation of the project which leaves little space for the schoolyard.
+ The importance of the civic centre in relation to the school functions. Decisions made appear to have been less student-centered. The lack of space in the locker room reflects a lack of understanding by the team of the priority of school needs over community needs.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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