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École primaire du Sommet

By : PRISME architecture + Bergeron Bouthillier architectes

GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition

Discipline : Interior Design

Categories : Education, Institution & Healthcare / Elementary School & Kindergarten : Silver Certification

Categories : Special Awards / Interior Design + Colour : Silver Certification

Categories : Special Awards / Kids zone : Silver Certification

The number of outdated schools in Quebec is growing every year, which is why architectural firms are working hard to design new schools that are safe and participatory and that emphasize the well-being of their occupants. This is where the new concept of our Summit Elementary School in Laval fits in. A transformable, flexible and modular school that adapts harmoniously to the needs of both students and teachers.

The Summit Elementary School, which welcomed its first students at the start of the 2021 school year, features large windows and exterior walls adorned with imitation wood aluminum with “fleurdelisé blue” accents. The new building, which stands proudly on Chemin du Souvenir in Laval, displays the new “architectural signature” established and defined by the Ministry of Education.

Designed with a steel structure in order to harmonize with the new expectations of the Ministry of Education, the teams of PRISME architecture and Bergeron Bouthillier Architects have achieved a real technical prowess, both in the design of the geometric shapes of the premises and in the “Tetris” shapes designed on the different facades of the new building.

Interior design – In the new elementary school, educational success depends first and foremost on the quality of the teaching and learning facilities. For this reason, the Summit School was designed with the well-being of the student in mind, as well as his or her development in the school. The school was designed to offer its occupants common spaces colored with a dynamic and inspiring chromatic palette that encourages motivation and personal growth. Large windows were installed in the classrooms as well as in the multi-purpose room and the corridors, allowing for a maximum of natural light, which has the goal of creating a feeling of well-being, calm and concentration for the children.

The architectural firms and the Centre de services scolaires de Laval wanted to offer an exemplary school to the teaching staff and the children by thinking of a design and layout of the premises that would firmly support the pedagogy. Therefore, the creation of the innovative learning spaces respects the professionalism and autonomy of the educators involved as well as their practices of today and tomorrow by proposing a spatially flexible school that would support pedagogical practice over the long term rather than inhibit change or development.

Modular and flexible – The Summit School is a pioneer in being a TFM school: transformable, flexible and modular.

This concept, imagined and designed by the Centre de services scolaires de Laval in collaboration with PRISME architecture and Bergeron Bouthillier Architectes, is based on removable partitions made of sliding panels that allow rooms to be enlarged or reduced according to current needs.

For example, the large multipurpose room can be transformed into 3 smaller rooms. Or, classrooms can be easily paired to allow teachers to work in teams. A room can be separated to accommodate 8, 16 or 32 students. The library also opens onto the corridor through removable glass walls to enlarge and decompartmentalize the learning spaces.

A sustainable school inclined in its municipality – It is true that the “TFM” schools are more expensive to design but here the vision was rather based on the long term. The savings that are expected are “significant” and result from the fact that the school will no longer need to demolish and rebuild new facilities to have more classrooms because this “TFM” concept allows for the creation of partitions in facilities and offers more small spaces as needed.

An innovative and promising concept – These transformable, flexible and scalable schools could become more common in the years to come, as the Department of Education’s new real estate planning guide now recommends the construction of new “flexible, adaptive and scalable” schools.

Collaboration

Architect : PRISME architecture

Architect : Bergeron Bouthillier architectes

Photographer : Joël Gingras

General Contractor : Sajo inc.

Engineering : La Cie Repentigny Électrique

Engineering : STR Mécanique

Manufacturer - Distributor : Ventilation GR

Manufacturer - Distributor : Protection incendie Lanaudière inc.

Project Manager : Jasmin Clément

Manufacturer - Distributor : Molok

Lighting : Luminaire Authentik