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Centre Alessa du Centre de formation professionnelle Paul-Rousseau

By : PRISME architecture + Faucher Gauthier Architectes

GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition

Discipline : Interior Design

Categories : Education, Institution & Healthcare / High School & College : Gold Certification

The new Centre Alessa expansion at CFP Paul-Rousseau forms a link between the existing St-Frédéric and Marcel-Proulx pavilions and allows the school’s students access to all the services of the main pavilion, namely the student dining room and the CFP administrative area. The location between these two existing buildings built in the early 1950’s was an exciting design challenge, as this configuration requires the connection to be made through existing spaces that need to be rearranged and relocated. The conceptual response was to connect the new one-story building with dynamic connecting corridors considered code-wise pedestrian walkways.

A rich, versatility-oriented program

In order to provide the school with all the space to meet the client’s multiple needs, the architects opted for the versatility of the spaces, offering the possibility of transforming some rooms to gain more square footage. This is how the theoretical classrooms are transformed into a restaurant open to the community.

On the first floor of the expansion are thus all the necessary spaces, including a new restaurant room divisible into three parts and transforming into classrooms, a new full kitchen serving the restaurant, a new multipurpose workshop/laboratory, a pastry-chocolate workshop and its cooking area, a store to sell the restaurant’s pastry and catering products, a workroom for the teachers, locker rooms and w.c. for students, a general dry goods store including a goods reception area and cold rooms for the two restaurant workshops, a room for temporary storage and disposal of waste, recycling and composting, housekeeping rooms. As for the mechanical and electrical technical rooms, they are located on the second floor of the expansion.

Front and center with wood

In addition to being modular, the classrooms are unique in that they have an exposed wood structure on the ceiling, which is very rarely done in a school due to building code constraints. This structure makes an optimal contribution to academic success by providing students with the benefits of biophilia over an extended period of time.

By classifying the building as combustible, the architects favored the use of wood to the maximum extent possible, among other things through the mixed structure implemented: a light wood structure for interior and exterior partitions, wood trusses and heavy timber. The exterior columns, some interior columns, beams and decking in the classroom area are made of exposed wood, while the columns in the corridor leading to the classrooms have a particular V-shaped geometry, which gives a masterful effect. Wooden finishes are included in all interior spaces: some doors are made of wood, benches are made of glulam, furniture was made of plywood covered with real wood veneer and finally acoustic ceilings made of wood slats were inserted.

Integration of the building into the community

New generations of schools are meant to be inclusive and rooted in the community, which is why the concept of implementing a public restaurant made sense in the project. The school offers, through its restaurant, varied menus open to the general public in a modern, sober and bright space, all concocted and served by the students of the establishment. Also, a store integrated to the building allowing to diffuse the culinary art of the students to the population by the free sale of the developed products. This point of service designed to make the space warm, friendly and unifying, becomes a must in the daily routine of families and seniors in the neighborhood.

The design of the spaces reinforces the very function of the building

Finally, the design of the spaces in this project was designed to reinforce the very function of the building. Since the facility is primarily a school, and thus a place for the dissemination of learning, the spaces were thought to expose the work of the students through windowed sections overlooking the kitchen workshops. The large windows open to curiosity, to the sharing of experience on the one hand, but also allow those inside to benefit from an optimal entry of natural light, essential to the well-being of the school. Also the bright coloring of the project recalls the flavors, the taste, the food and the perfumes often used in this sector of activity. The dynamism created through this colorful palette is a backdrop conducive to learning for young people. Finally, the coppery metal cladding is a nod to the pots used in the kitchen, while allowing for the integration of the existing building colors.

Collaboration

Architect : PRISME architecture

Architect : Faucher Gauthier Architectes

Project Manager : Lara Arcand

Engineering : LGT

General Contractor : Construction Deshaies et Raymond

Manufacturer - Distributor : Armature Sherbrooke

Engineering : R. Guilbeault Construction

Manufacturer - Distributor : Cevec

Manufacturer - Distributor : Termic

Manufacturer - Distributor : Lavigne

Manufacturer - Distributor : Regulvar