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Centre aquatique de Mirabel
By : Poirier Fontaine Architectes
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Sports & Leisure Building : Silver Certification
With its clean and resolutely contemporary lines, the new Mirabel Aquatic Center asserts itself as a strong presence in the neighborhood. Designed to serve the population of Mirabel as well as students from the nearby high school, the complex includes a 25 metre, 10-lane lap pool, a recreational pool, a wading pool, as well as water games and a water slide. A large universal changing room and two smaller gendered locker rooms serve its users. Upstairs, bleachers open onto the pool, and multi-purpose rooms allow Mirabel residents to gather for activities of all kinds, all in an environment suffused in natural light.
The implantation of the new centre is carefully considered to take advantage of the orientation and sun conditions, but also to acknowledge the ecological characteristics of the site. The presence of a river on the south edge of the site for instance, created a challenge, but also an opportunity to highlight the biodiversity specific to the area.
Upon arrival, the site paths guide the users towards the entrance of the building under a generous wood soffit. The glazed entrance hall is inspired by the vernacular architecture of porches typically seen surrounding the ancestral houses built in the community. With its colonnade and its expansive fenestration, this transitional space between interior and exterior becomes an informal gathering place offering both visual links towards the enclosure of the pools inside and towards the public plaza outside which serves as a collective public space for the users of the aquatic centre and the high school.
Welcoming spaces bathed in natural light flow throughout the building, allowing users to remain in constant contact with the exterior landscape, regardless of their location in the building. Glazed on both sides, the entry hall opens on one side onto the furnished outdoor spaces and the river, and on the other, onto the natatorium or the universal changing room. This configuration reinforces the strong connection to the exterior, no matter where in the building or the conditions outside.
On the second level, the bleachers offer views overlooking the natatorium and benefit from abundant natural light owing to the windows on three sides of the natatorium. Two multipurpose rooms complete the public gathering spaces where large windows offer direct views of the natatorium on one side and the river and outdoor spaces on the other.
The architecture of the building stems from a desire to carefully control the visual penetrations and the supply of natural light inside and to direct it effectively to improve the user experience.
Furthermore, the wood soffits, ceilings, and interior panels evoke the nature which surrounds the building; these biophilic design elements contribute to the well-being and comfort of users. The exterior envelope is composed, at the lower level, of prefabricated concrete panels cast with a texture which recalls the rural landscape of the area when seen from the air, while the upper band of the building is made up of a light-colored standing seam metal cladding which provides a lightness and contemporary character to the building.
Collaboration
