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COURT YARD SIDE, GARDEN SIDE – Omer-Séguin School expansion
By : Héloïse Thibodeau architecte
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / School & Preschool Education Building : Bronze Certification
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Art : Platinum Winner
COURT YARD SIDE, GARDEN SIDE – Omer-Séguin School expansion
In the wake of the Duplessis era (1956), the Omer-Séguin school was built in Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, an agricultural municipality. In 1984, the addition of a building doubles its surface area. In the fall of 2019, in response to the region’s strong demographic growth, the HTA team began the concept of the expansion mandate.
The new pavilion fits naturally into the site, separating the green space from the playgrounds. On the garden side, the layout preserves the vegetation and leaves room for the kiosk surrounded by century-old maples. On the courtyard side, the new facades join the old ones to form the playful active space of the traditional schoolyard. The pedestrian passage, visual link between the courtyard and the garden, becomes a ramp connecting the expansion to the existing one.
Inspired by the simple and elegant forms of rural vernacular architecture and articulated by a folding, its volumetry is erected on two floors. A pictorial and sculptural work of art, the blue roof rests on its base of light-colored bricks. In a play of patterns in monochrome, the metal tiles wrap the slopes of the roof that fold on the facades.
On the garden side, the asymmetrical floor plan arranges the classrooms in pairs; movable partitions and furniture on wheels ensure flexibility of layout according to activities. On the courtyard side, the offices and the lounge are located. An exterior staircase provides access to the courtyard and a gallery.
Vectors of biophilia, skylights punctuate the corridor marked out with informal zones; writing boards, glass niches and furniture invite students to inhabit the space. On the upper floor, the acoustic rafters underline the cathedral ceiling of the classrooms. The motif recurs in the lines of the interior finishes and the exterior brickwork.
With Sous le soleil exactement, the artist Louise deLorme exploits the roof’s metallic tiles integrating rotating elements of flower-reliefs. Poetic and dreamlike, the work addresses the landscape, in symbiosis with the vocation of the site and its architectural signature.
Collaboration
