Life in a zigzag
A new school is built in Saguenay! Its clean and colorful volume announces a playful, different and wonderful space. On the street side, its presence is vibrant, welcoming and joyful. On the park side, three staircases lead down to the recreation areas: the courtyard, the wooded area, the playgrounds. The building and the landscape subtly take advantage of the topography of the land. Thus, the entrance level, accessible on the same level from Boily Street and the parking lot, constitutes a vast landing linking the schoolyard level to that of the elementary classrooms. The administration and daycare are located on this level. Both have a special connection to the community.
The school is animated by the daily movement of the students. In the morning, from Boily Street, they walk to the courtyard through the sheltered passageway on the south side of the building, the kindergarteners find themselves in their own play area near their classrooms. The older children dust themselves off to the edge of the wooded area, and then, at the appointed time, they divide by cycle to climb the three grated stairs that connect the courtyard to the locker rooms. Throughout the day, on their way to the gym, the assembly area, the various labs, or the custodial department, they move from east to west and up the two flights of stairs in a great zigzagging motion. From the administration, faculty and staff have easy access to the elevator that connects all levels, but can also use the adjacent exit staircase that is largely glazed on the main façade. Circulating inside or outside, everyone participates in the life of the school.
The structural approach helps to communicate the organization of the school: on the lower half-levels, close to the ground, one feels the solid foundation of concrete; on the upper level, it is rather the lightness of the steel structure and the envelopment of the large wooden roof that predominate. As for the services that ensure the comfort and safety of all those who attend the school, they are more discreet. Everyone will appreciate the warmth of the radiant floors, the quality of the air and the natural and artificial light. The construction of the school can be documented to create a narrative that also explains how the school is organized around three places: the front courtyard that opens onto the main entrance and childcare reception area; the gymnasium adjacent to the assembly area and playgrounds; and, in between, the bleachers that connect the floors.
The front courtyard welcomes all who arrive at the school from Boily Street. Oriented east-southeast, it is particularly bright in the morning and allows the eye to penetrate into the spaces where all those who animate the school meet every day. At the end of the day, it is through this courtyard that parents access the daycare center.
At École Marguerite-D'Youville, where the educational project is based on the integration of daily physical activity, the presence of the gym plays a central role. From the assembly area, glass walls expose the students in action. The natural light that enters through a skylight radiates into the heart of the school: the gym illuminates daily life! In the evening, on weekends and in the summer, citizens have direct access to the gym from the schoolyard. It is also through this entrance that parents arrive for events to which they are invited. The gymnasium remains an active place even when the school is closed.
The central location of the gathering space and the bleachers make it a place of convergence where everyone gathers at some point during the day. The space is large and intimate at the same time: colorful cushions punctuate the bleachers; a round carpet forms an island in front of the fireplace, a source of warmth and comfort. The gathering space is a free space where collective activities can be held in which students are free to participate, whatever their level, according to the principles of the Nurture approach: reading a story on the carpet, tending to the climbing plants on the railing, craft activities, this collective kitchen and others.
The first floor and gathering space are located on two half-levels physically connected by the lower flight of stairs. The administrative spaces, the staff rest area and the on-call service are at the main entrance level. Slightly below, in addition to the gymnasium, are the creative lab, the arts and language workshop, the social-emotional space and the motor development room. On the same level, the kindergarten group forms a first small group of classes on the first floor with a small private hall. Each classroom is distinguished by the coloring of its facade: the classrooms are like small buildings facing the street in the larger environment of the school. Inside, the simple rectangular geometry of the rooms allows for great flexibility of use. They have furniture elements on wheels that allow the space to be simply configured according to the activities planned by the teachers. These classrooms have direct access to the playground via their locker rooms.
The clusters of classrooms for the three primary cycles are located upstairs, under the large wooden roof, each connected to the schoolyard by its own colored staircase. On this level, in addition to the collaborative, kitchen, concentration and calming spaces, there is a greenhouse, a green roof and a place more specifically dedicated to reading (other spaces are also available).
dedicated to reading (other shelves filled with books are scattered throughout the school). This library is in the path of all elementary students who walk along or through it to reach the first flight of stairs.
Like the upper grades, the lower grades are in close proximity to the bleachers, the gym, and the assembly area. The learning community spaces for the underclassmen extend to the library and into the exercise room overlooking the gym where they cross paths with the older students.
From the senior spaces, located between the junior and senior spaces, one can see the entrance courtyard, the greenhouse, the bleachers, the playground and the schoolyard. On the west-northwest façade, a screen prevents glare and overheating caused by the sun's rays at the end of the afternoon, and its transparency ensures that the students have a view of the playground.
In the third cycle, whose classrooms are oriented to the south, take advantage of planters installed along the windows. The low planters are directly accessible to them, higher shelves diffuse natural light into the classrooms and teachers can also place other plants in them. From one cycle to the next, all the spaces in the learning community benefit from abundant natural light and offer a spatial flexibility that allows them to be used in different ways. It is a place to share a pleasant lunch, to draw, or simply to discuss in small groups.
The new Marguerite-D'Youville school presents the image of a bright, transparent and colourful building that extends into the landscape, but above all it offers a unique, stimulating and comforting environment. The students are proud of their school and it is a place that benefits the entire community.
(Competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Stage 1:
The boldness, richness and spatial sequence are appreciated.
The route seems to work, from the arrival from the forecourt where the children enter and then subdivide during the route according to their cycle.
The creation of learning communities in distinct cycles is well understood. The large windows in the perspectives are appealing.
The spatial grouping of the psychomotor rooms, arts and languages and the creative lab is appropriate.
Nice use of the courtyard, despite a conflict to be resolved with parking.
Recommendations:
Siting:
+ Parking under the overhang needs to be reviewed and the relationship with the backyard is questioned.
+ Optimize the exterior circulation further, wouldn't the ramp access alone be too limiting? The jury is also concerned about the winter maintenance of this access.
+ The jury has doubts about the in-ground gymnasium: it will probably be too costly to be really considered.
+ It is hoped that the interface between the school and the city will be enriched.
Layout:
+ The jury questions the positioning of the kindergarten at street level, and the nature of this with the street (windows, access, ...).
+ It would be desirable to group together the reception, the daycare service and the secretariat which acts as access control. The administration must also be able to be connected with the entrance. An extra checkroom is needed near the guard service.
+ The acoustic aspect should be taken into consideration. Measures to control / reduce the level of noise should be proposed.
+ Access, amenities, classroom size and spatial layout should be equitable, as well as spaces for collaboration and concentration.
+ The positioning of the bleachers is not convincing, as it does not seem to resonate with any other significant space. Should the bleachers be reoriented?
+ Access to the gymnasium requires descending many flights of stairs, which is unlikely in the daily lives of students and teachers.
+ It is hoped that the collaborative spaces will be better connected to the classrooms and will be better calibrated, as will the reception areas and the dining room.
+ The jury expects refinement in the treatment of interior spaces. The alternation of materials will be exploited and it will be necessary to allow its enhancement in the collective interior spaces where the presence of wood is appreciated by the jury.
+ Competitors must provide safe spaces for students and in relation to the special needs clientele. Thus, the interior ambiences must be thought out to soothe and calm students with behavioral difficulties. It would be important to bring out the welcoming and warm aspect of a home in the interior design, in line with the Nurture approach.
Representation:
+ For Stage 2, the jury strongly hopes for a graphic representation that better captures the experience in relation to and consistent with the qualities of the spaces sought.
Stage 2 :
The image of a small village contained under a large roof is evocative and appreciated by the jury. The color also reinforces the concept by marking the different houses from the central space, in addition to bringing a playful side to the proposal. The jury also appreciates the architectural path that suggests a nice progression from the exterior to the classroom. The presence of the gymnasium in the heart of the school is interesting from the point of view of the pedagogical project, as well as for its contribution of natural light in all the central spaces. Finally, the expressiveness of the didactic building system reinforces the idea of a school that acts as an educational tool.
In addition, the jury appreciates the following elements:
+ The presence of the greenhouse in the center of the project as a learning space and entrance canopy.
+ The route following the sequence of entrance courtyard, heart, bleachers, café space, with views to the outside, which is pleasant.
+ The transparency from the street and the porosity of the envelope to the exterior that allows for contact between the community and the school space.
+ The space for cooking which is also used for eating.
+ The collective spaces that communicate well from one place to another.
+ The richness of the classroom and its alcoves as well as the controlled space of the heart and its sub-spaces.
However, the jury has reservations about the following elements:
+ The enveloping character related to each of the houses leaves something to be desired. The project is worked in the image of a village, but the universe specific to each of the groups is not well felt and does not reflect the socio-affective character desired for the project.
+ The project refers to a formal expression that is more similar to that of a high school.
+ The expression of the courtyard is limited mainly to the parvis. More detail on the whole park and courtyard would have facilitated the understanding of the exterior environment.
+ The entrance to the community is not welcoming, although it is intended to be inviting, conducive to fluidity and part of the project. It is also difficult to dissociate this circulation from the actual school premises.
+ The relationship of classrooms to collaborative spaces forms collaborative corridors rather than learning communities.
+ The exterior staircases raise questions about the passage of large numbers of students in a short period of time. The introduction of livability and support for other uses would have been desired to bring these transitional spaces to life as something other than a passageway.
+ The volume of the 2nd cycle, orange on the first floor, gives a commercial aspect to the building, while the rest shows a greater sensitivity.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
31 scanned / 31 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Presentation Panel Excerpt
- Photograph of Model
- Photograph of Model
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Perspective
- Site Plan
- Plan
- Plan
- Section
- Section
- Section
- Elevation
- Elevation
- Axonometric Drawing
- Axonometric Drawing
- Construction detail
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
- Schema
