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By : Jean-Maxime Labrecque, architecte
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Interior Design
Categories : Office / Co working : Silver Certification
Categories : Special Awards / Low Cost Design : Gold Certification
SODEP
Plying the wood path
1 . SODEP
The Société des périodiques culturels du Québec (SODEP) is a cultural non-profit organization composed of forty or so members, representing printed and digital magazines covering subjects such as visual arts, literature, poetry, history, cinema and music, amongst others.
This alliance of cultural publications has moved to a commercial suite located on St-Hubert street in Montreal. In order to create a gathering place and cater to all the other tenants’ needs while working with a tiny budget (approximately $35 per square foot), a simple, sober, cost-efficient yet expressive project has been developed. As the Arte Povera movement promotes it (an artistic movement which some magazines often refer to), the project equally evoques efficiency and modesty.
2 . A response to the volume
The volume: long and narrow with high ceilings. The answer: a single wooden object placed in the center of the space; a monumental island, 60 feet long table, topped by a lighting fixture.
Let’s follow the wood path of this 3900 cubic feet linear wooden sculpture.
The gesture’s expressive and sculptural strenghts reside in its coninuity and punctuation. While the lighting fixture is visually uninterrupted from one end to the other, the table is marked every 5 feet by working stations. This custom-made furniture is destined to welcome SODEP employees and its members’ activities.
This architectural statement translates the spirit of community, offers comfortable working and gathering surfaces while also encompassing a generous storage room for each user.
3 . On site custom-made furniture
Table + lighting fixture
3.1 Table
60 feet long, the monumental table is composed of 5′ x 10′ poplar plywood panels, each allowing four 30 » x 60 » working stations, i.e. a total of 24. The horizontal working planes are supported by simple IKEA cabinets that act as the individual storage. Each working space has electrical outlets, accessible through simple openings on the horizontal surfaces.
At the rear end of the table, one can find the kitchen. A sink is concealed on this end and carries a little joke; to use the sink and faucet, one has to slip his head “inside” the lighting fixture at the end of this 60 feet long table-also-kitchen-island. Various other small appliances for cooking and a pantry are hidden in the adjacent storage modules.
For any non-profit organization, every dollar counts: a great batch of identical and generic chairs from the manufacturer Samsonite were found in a second hand office supplies store on Montreal’s south shore.
3.2 Lighting fixture
The heating and ventilation duct is positioned over the central table. Its upper and bottom faces are used to host the DEL strips fixtures, which allow for direct and indirect lighting. The standard Cantruss tinplate supporting elements have been adapted to welcome two vertical plywood surfaces: the first one stabilizes the ensemble while the second acts as finishing capping. HVAC threaded rods and their beam clamps are exposed, as well as the electromechanical engineer sculptural vertical venting ducts at the back of the space.
4 . Flooring
The building was originally built for a carpet manufacturer. Its original terrazzo floors were simply polished. It was a wonderful surprise to see it reappear in such a great and rare condition. The floor pattern, combined with the central wooden island, create rich textures in a space where natural light is limited to the front window and door.
5 . Micro budget, short construction timeframe
The SODEP had a very small budget for space planning and the building owner had a tiny rental improvement budget to refresh the space; the overall budget was micro. The architectural approach has enabled the general contractor to deliver the project on budget and on time, within a very short six weeks timeframe schedule.
6 . Project life
The project was completed as planned, one day before the SODEP’s Annual General Assembly of June 22 2022. More than fifty guests gathered on site, which they happily repeated for the office holiday party. Do we have to say that SODEP never lacks working space for his daily activities as a team of 5 and guests?
7 . Recycling, re-use
Raw plywood sheets were delivered directly on site and installed in their original format. Only some of them were cut. A second phase is planned for the SODEP space in a few years. These sheets will be reintegrated in the future construction works. Similarly for every other component of this first phase, i.e. IKEA cabinets, plumbing supplies, ventilation ducts, LED strips, etc.
