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Complexe Aquatique Rosemont
By : Poirier Fontaine avec Riopel + associés et KANVA
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Sports & Leisure Building : Gold Certification
Inaugurated in 1951 and designed by architect Jean-Julien Perreault, the Rosemont Centre is located in the heart of a dynamic and diversified neighbourhood. It offers a program housing a library, a community center and a swimming pool. Integrating with the original Rosemont Centre, the new Rosemont Aquatic Centre offers a contemporary and respectful expansion, including a semi-Olympic pool, an acclimatization pool and multifunctional rooms. The diversity of activities and the surrounding population density make the site a cultural, recreational and sports venue, anchored in the daily life of the citizens of the neighbourhood and of the greater Montreal area.
The architecture emphasizes the desire to create a distinctive and unified cultural and sports hub, calling on users to take advantage of this civic axis and to develop lifestyle habits that combine sports and art, thus contributing to increased human development within the Montreal community.
Interconnectivity of interface spaces
Sports, cultural and community activities are distributed throughout the site to promote the interconnection of the components. By working side by side, the different programs create new interface spaces; a catalytic and collective gesture.
Placed at the junctions of the different programs, the intervals facilitate a direct and positive dialogue between the components of the site. Thus, the person wishing to take swimming lessons at the sports center could discover, by his passage, the multifunctional room of the cultural center.
The spine articulates and connects the programmatic entities to the key elements of the community and the neighborhood. Enabling a fluid and intuitive circulation, it links the activity poles as well as the interface zones. By extending the public space and creating key visual openings, it weaves links between the different components of the complex and its environment. The building then becomes a social entity and a community player.
Inclusiveness and respect
The Rosemont Aquatic Complex offers an inclusive and accessible place. The universal locker room allows for optimal accessibility and facilitate the organization of family trips. They are also adapted for people with disabilities. Visually linked to the pools and the outdoors, they promote inclusion, safety and openness within the community. Finally, the pools are equipped with access ramps allowing people with reduced mobility to fully enjoy the facilities.
Heritage Dialogue
As a tribute to the richness of the original Art Deco signature building, materials were chosen to dialogue with the existing features. With a respectful reinterpretation of the new elements, such as the exterior brick, the rhythm of the windows and the sunshade motifs, the project is delicately integrated into the existing heritage.
Environmental responsibility
Due to the energy-intensive nature of an aquatic center, the means deployed to target LEED Gold certification required the consolidation of several environmental strategies. Through the use of natural light, water conservation, renewable geothermal energy and ventilation that removes chlorine particles from the air, the building becomes an environmental education tool for the community.
