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Institut du véhicule innovant (IVI)
By : Consortium BGLA + Atelier IDEA
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture : People's Choice Award
Categories : Public Building / Higher Education & Research Building : Silver Certification
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Wood : Platinum Winner
L’institut du Véhicule Innovant (IVI), a project carried out by the consortium BGLA and Atelier IDEA, is a college technology transfer center (CTTC) affiliated with the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme. The IVI supports its partners by testing, analyzing, conceptualizing and manufacturing prototypes of new vehicular technologies. IVI is the Quebec reference in transportation electrification and automation.
Following an integrated design process (IDP) held in several workshops with the client and all stakeholders, all agreed that innovation, being IVI’s primary vocation, had to be at the heart of the building’s very design.
One of the main design challenges identified during the IDP was found in the programming; it was necessary to look for the best way to make the two (2) main uses, which are otherwise very distinct, cohabit in a single building.
The architectural concept is thus defined by two parallel and detached volumes, the first one hosting the creation and research spaces and the second one being destined for experimentation and prototype manufacturing. The architectural connection between the world of creation and the world of manufacturing is made via two walkways that have a double function. In addition to serving as acoustic buffers, they are dynamic places of passage, inhabited by a string of bright offices and workspaces that will allow student interns, researchers, and business partners to collaborate, sometimes with the research and creation wing, sometimes with the manufacturing and experimentation wing.
The network of walkways also animates a vegetated outdoor space that establishes a visual and physical connection with the existing forest and generates a semi-private place for users and their guests and collaborators. In aerial view, the walkways and landscaping adjacent to the courtyard form the IVI logo. Consisting of oblique lines, these walkways infuse dynamism into the exterior space and enhance the experience of moving through the heart of the project.
The main wing utilizes a hybrid structure primarily made of wood, composed in particular of a structural glulam curtain wall. It puts forward the principles of passive solar architecture, which, despite its thousand-year-old existence, fits well today with the innovative approach, especially in the context of the climate crisis that commands a significant reduction in the energy consumption of buildings. This large facade facing directly south is also marked by an aluminum sunshade, openwork and integrated into the volume of the building. This allows the optimization of solar gains in winter while controlling them in summer to avoid overheating. The new construction also uses wood as an interior finishing element and as exterior cladding.
The exterior wall assemblies are designed to significantly reduce thermal losses, almost entirely eliminating thermal bridges. The insulating value of the building envelope is significantly higher than current standards.
The extensive use of wood material in structure and as interior and exterior cladding reduces the project’s carbon footprint and enhances the ambience with its warm, natural tones.
Collaboration
