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Réaménagements de l’entrée et du corridor principal du Collège John Abbott
By : ekm architecture et aménagement
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Higher Education & Research Building : Bronze Certification
The Herzberg pavilion of John Abbott College (JAC) is the principal teaching building and occupies the center of the historic Macdonald agricultural college built in 1907 by Sir William Christopher Macdonald. The project consists in the reconstruction of its main ground floor corridor and adjacent areas to correct major structural problems. Our architectural team was mandated to realize this highly technical project due to its deep institutional knowledge of the College and of its heritage buildings having built several architecture and landscape projects there, such as the Library, active teaching classrooms and a new outdoor classroom and performance venue, as well as an Indigenous garden.
The aesthetics of the project are inspired by the noble materials of this century old college and its massive institutional architecture. To properly honour the rich material palette including red oak panelling and ornamental brickwork in various shades of ocher, we proposed a luminous palette of new materials that play off the heft of the existing building. This dialectical approach towards the historic architecture is utilized to address a range of structural, universal accessibility and lighting issues.
The reinforcement of the sagging archaic reinforced concrete floor slab was achieved through the mechanical and chemical fusion of a new thin layer of high-performance concrete onto the existing thereby creating a robust new composite floor. New terrazzo floor tile flooring with emerald, burgundy and gold marble stones set in a white cement matrix is delineated from the rich hues of the brick wall by dark green granite baseboards. Rails, guards, nosing, fittings and plates were laser cut with patterns of ascending bubbles that emphasize the ethereal qualities of the stainless steel, creating a whimsical effect. Teal green showcases flanking the new glass entrance to the library fitted with brass hardware plays off the golden hue of the restored white oak entrance doors. Baltic birch plywood slats faced with white laminate used in the louvered ceiling system, screen the light sources and morph between the rectilinear architecture of the corridor and the rounded archways in the exterior walls. At the intersection of the two principal corridors, the slats coalesces into a lattice rosace that marks the center of the campus and inscribe the cardinal points while echoing the landmark cupola on the roof five stories above.
The design also addresses a range of other functional requirements of the College and includes the replacement and reconstruction of the adjacent areas and doorways impacted by the work. Restored cabinets as well as custom designed showcases present student art along the walls of the corridor. Suspended linear light fixtures including a T-shaped unit marking the two secondary intersections, provide high quality direct and indirect lighting of the highly absorptive acoustic ceiling clouds. Custom designed billboards and 4-stream azure coloured waste management stations are distributed throughout the project. At the west end, the ‘flea market’, a student-oriented space provides a space of exchange where pinboard walls are offered for freely posted personal adds. At the east end of the project, the reimagined Arctic circle with its emerald-green ceiling and twinkling down-lights links the Herzberg pavilion to the Anne Marie-Edward Science Building and the rest of the campus beyond.
