The school on the coast
The neighborhood, the city and the region
The École de la Côte embodies a community architecture that tells the story of the landscape from which it emerges, that of the Le Bassin neighbourhood and, more broadly, of the vast Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Inspired by the identity landscapes of the region in order to invent the school of tomorrow, she imagines differently these places that support and allow education; places that make learning a game.
Concretely, the intention of the School of the Coast is to inhabit the mountain. It buries the architecture in order to highlight the topography of the site. This strategy reveals the landscape, creates playful paths and proposes a resolutely community-based school, open to Saint-Joachim Park, the Le Bassin neighbourhood and the region.
A school in a park
The architectural program of the École de la Côte is composed of two pavilions with distinct and complementary functions.
While the classroom pavilion is buried in the ground to provide visual openings to the surrounding landscape, the community pavilion is clearly positioned as a link between the neighbourhood and the park. This pavilion is deliberately highlighted and raised above street level in order to affirm its role as the main entrance to the school, in continuity with a large esplanade linking the entire school to Boily Street.
Hosting the various functions shared between the school and the residents of the neighborhood, the community pavilion is spread over three levels and opens onto the landscape of the region. From the entrance hall, where a warm atmosphere is created by natural light and an expressive wood roof, one can hear the children playing below near the bleachers, see them in action in the gymnasium or studying in the courtyard. This large opening in the heart of the pavilion allows for a momentary grasp of the school's organization so that students and visitors can easily find their way around. A
A strong visual link is thus created towards the common spaces of the school, its exterior courtyard and the surrounding woodland; a composition that evokes that of a small summit.
The classroom pavilion, parallel to Boily Street, inhabits the hill and the distinctive topography of the neighbourhood. Like three small houses between which nature can intrude, each learning community belongs to a distinct volume that is effectively linked to the same larger whole. The perception is that of small schools, related to each other, and thus brings the whole to a scale more easily appropriated by the child. This configuration also allows for dedicated courtyards for each cycle, set back from the large courtyard and St. Joachim Park, in order to provide classrooms with a more intimate outdoor space, greenery, light and play.
School routes
The spatial organization resulting from the implementation of these two pavilions offers two main routes for students; one more direct from the interior of the community pavilion, the other exterior, more organic and animated, from the schoolyard to the classrooms.
From the main school entrance, students can quickly descend to their classrooms or various gathering spaces from large staircases located near the entrance. Once down to the middle level of the community pavilion, interior access to the classroom pavilion is via a large, lived-in circulation bathed in natural light that penetrates abundantly through a series of skylights. This passage is punctuated by alternating exterior and interior thresholds linked to the classrooms: courtyards, locker rooms and collaborative spaces take turns to enliven the student's journey. At the end of the evening, or on weekends, it is also possible to close the interior passageway leading to the cycles, in order to limit the access of the general public to the spaces dedicated to the students.
From the large esplanade on Boily Street or from the landing on Henri-Bourassa Street, a large vegetated walkway surrounds the building and offers a more active route to the playground and to the learning communities through their respective courtyards. These accesses through the courtyards are directly linked to the locker rooms dedicated to each cycle.
The layout of the cycles is designed so that the classes for the youngest students, kindergarten and cycle 1, are located closer to the playground and the community pavilion, to facilitate the movement of toddlers and their parents.
Learning Communities
The learning community model, as envisioned for École de la Côte, brings together students from each cycle in a friendly manner while providing more intimate spaces. To achieve this, the different classes are interspersed with outdoor courtyards, collaborative spaces, and multipurpose circulation areas. The school then offers these students a sequence of places that alternate between spaces that encourage awakening and meeting and others that inspire reflection and calm.
Shared outdoor courtyard
The courtyard acts as a transition between the large playground and the interior classroom space. It allows students to quickly reach the locker room dedicated to each cycle. This outdoor space, with its great versatility and scale, also allows a gradual return to calm from the playground to the classroom.
Classrooms
In order to allow a great flexibility of use and atmosphere, the classrooms of each cycle are bordered on both sides by large openings giving access to a courtyard and a collaborative space. These links to the outside of the classroom are designed to be generous, not only to encourage natural light and ventilation, but also to express the idea of sharing and collaboration between the cycles. The classrooms also allow for the creation of many sub-spaces to provide areas for reading, play and relaxation, as suggested by the Nurture approach.
Collaborative space
A transitional space between the school and the classrooms, the collaboration space is multi-purpose and suggests a subdivision between 3 large zones: one dedicated to meals and group work; one reserved for the central kitchenette and its large multi-functional island; one hosting a small lounge that can be used for reading or games through the exploded library.
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Exterior environment
In order to link the school's facilities to the park and the surrounding streets, the landscape interventions are deployed along a large learning path that encircles the entire school. This winding path, punctuated by a sequence of outdoor facilities with distinct vocations, is an opportunity for students to play with friends, participate in the maintenance of the community vegetable garden, sit under a tree to continue the class outside...
This vast courtyard is thus conceived as a permeable space where the natural topographical and vegetal qualities of the site are assumed and enhanced, thus offering a variety of spaces complementary to the activities already present in Saint-Joachim Park. For example, a series of plantings, following the slopes, is designed on the northwest side to reduce the impact of the prevailing winds, without overshadowing the play areas.
This desire to combine topography and vegetation also takes shape at the top of the classroom pavilion, where the volumes embedded in the hill are themselves covered by a green roof, offering themselves to the view of passers-by on Boily Street.
Conclusion
The École de la Côte imagines tomorrow's learning environment in a different way. It tells a local story, that of the landscapes and the people who make them, while promoting new ways of teaching and learning.
Therein lies the beauty of this school: the symbol of the institution fades away and leaves all the room to the community, as if the park and the school intertwined one in the other allow to unite both physically and visually these places of learning and leisure with the neighborhood.
(Competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Stage 1:
Featuring a clear architectural party, the jury appreciates the school's welcome that leads directly into the heart, as well as the clear distinction of volumes for community and learning uses. The school's playground and learning courtyard will undoubtedly provide a sense of security for students.
More generally, the attention to outdoor spaces and the anticipated mountain views from the interior spaces are noted.
The entrance is welcoming and efficient, in relation to the custodial service and the bleacher. The vision between the learning wings overlooking the exterior courtyard and the other learning wings will be inspiring for the students, with its windows that will offer interesting luminosity to the interior and appreciated transversal views.
The jury emphasizes a nice distribution between classrooms, concentration and collaboration rooms and the gym with its access to the courtyard is close to the community.
The heart is a beautiful image composed with sensitivity and whose fluidity seems to suit the project. The staircase is appreciated. Beautiful sequence: Everything is on the same level and in direct communication with the bleacher. At the landing level, the welcome is interesting, the architecture seems to accompany us.
Each community is a school in itself. The interior perspective is interesting with its double height and its connection between the interior and the exterior. The jury commends the competitors for illustrating a place of learning.
Recommendations:
Siting and architectural expression:
+ The alternation between open and closed blocks creates interesting interstices between the pavilions, but concerns the jury. However, the multiplication of volumes may have an impact on the costs, the jury believes that attention should be paid to this.
+ Interesting slope from the entrance to the courtyard, but more attention should be paid to the neighbourhood. Rework the dialogue of the entrance with the heart.
+ The appearance of a fortress from the street does not suit the project with its large opaque wall. The jury would like to see the project move outward, dialogue with the neighborhood, and open up to the life of the school and the neighborhood. The current fear is that the project is too closed and not very connected to its neighbors. Between the classroom units, could we open up, with openings and windows to the city? How could the project be more in dialogue with the community? How can we better connect the city and the neighborhood on the façade? Competitors will be asked to work on the street side (wall) visual and the exterior visual.
Design:
+ The project will need to provide for reception with stairs in winter during heavy snow accumulations. Winter weather protection strategies and maintenance solutions for the courtyards between the pavilions and the staircase between the cycles must be proposed.
+ The access to the Children's Centre should also have an independent and direct entrance to the exterior and not only an access through the social-affective room.
+ The entrance could be more marked, it seems timid to us... The secretariat is far away, review the reception area Plan to place the secretariat at the heart of the reception area.
+ Develop more the relationship of the wall that accompanies us along the esplanade (neighborhood, users, street). Also develop the possibility of enriching the staircase that separates the entrance block from the 3 houses and (volumetry, entrance threshold).
+ The size of the locker rooms per cycle seems too small. It would be appropriate to evaluate the student's journey through the arrival sequence.
+ Increase transparency between classrooms with the second skin and collaborative spaces, and encourage more openings to the courtyard. The jury loves the sensitivity of the interior spaces and kudos for showing a place of learning!
Materiality
+ How to consider the maintenance of wood and the durability of the construction (specify the tectonics of the façade)
+ The surface vs. budget is questioned.
+ Develop materiality to promote links between interior and exterior spaces.
Stage 2:
The jury appreciates the poetic expressiveness of the project, which conveys the notion of experience and discovery. It also emphasizes the sensitive originality of the project in terms of its distinctive layout, which offers a beautiful opening onto the courtyard and preserves the nature of the site and the park. The "park pavilion" (as you call it) reinforces this successful landscaping of the site. The jury also highlights the great strength of the learning communities that contribute to the daily learning experience. Finally, the jury salutes the boldness of the architectural proposal.
In addition, the jury appreciates the following:
+ The quality of the entry sequence from the courtyard to the learning spaces.
+ The place given to food at the heart of the different learning communities.
+ The generosity of the courtyard opening onto the park.
+ The luminous qualities of the different spaces.
+ The building's location, which projects towards the park, exploiting and enhancing this proximity.
However, the jury has reservations about the following aspects:
+ The systematization of the party, which creates a rigidity of the whole.
+ The spatial experience according to cycles, which remains relatively the same throughout the student's school career (from grade 1 to grade 6).
+ Some functional relationships such as the complex parent route to daycare and the route to the gym only.
+ Safety issues raised by the low, accessible roofs, which will inevitably require fencing.
+ The large locker room corridor that does not feel lived in or habitable.
+ The cross-cutting transparency between learning communities is considered disruptive to teaching.
+ The difficulty of delineating non-community spaces in the "park pavilion".
+ The separation of the "park pavilion" from the learning spaces, which isolates the heart of the school from the classrooms, as if school could only be experienced in two parts.
+ The excessive introversion of the premises in relation to the desired opening to the surrounding landscape.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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