Rénovation du Pavillon de la vie étudiante

Discipline : Interior Design

Categories : Special Awards / Renovation (Before & After) : Gold Certification

Categories : Education, Institution & Healthcare / University & Higher Education : Platinum Winner

Student Life Pavilion – E1

The Pavillon à la vie étudiante, formerly known as the Centre social, was erected in 1959. Covering some 3,000 m² distributed over three floors, it was originally designed to house the Direction de l’université de Sherbrooke as well as the cafeteria. Nearly sixty years later, the building is home to student life services, the general administration, as well as health, psychology, guidance, animation and financial aid services. The student newspaper, the two main student associations and various student groups share the other spaces.

In order to offer the student community a “facilitating and innovative” place to live, it was crucial to improve the existing facilities. While there had been a succession of changes of use over the years, these had not been accompanied by any significant redevelopment, and it was clear to see that the building was now outdated and ill-suited.

With a view to improving the existing facilities, it was crucial to improve the existing facilities.

With a view to integrating well with the pavilion’s infrastructure, which is a 1960s building with poor insulation and asbestos-containing materials, the interior and exterior renovation work was aimed above all at creating inspiring new functional spaces at the heart of this important building forming part of the original heart of the campus, and modernizing the electromechanical systems.

To achieve this, Cimaise materialized the vision of openness, welcome and sharing desired by the University for the design of the new student spaces. Recycling the building to create functional spaces that meet the current needs of student services required:

• The creation of major openings in the exterior walls to increase the intake of natural light;
• The excavation and lowering of the basement level to clear a height compatible with public use;
• Improving the waterproofing and insulation of the original building envelope;
• The coordination and integration of bulky electromechanical services that serve other pavilions on campus.

Concretely, the planning of the spaces enabled reflection on the building’s vocation, the segregation and use of the various spaces, and highlighted the desire to create a place of experience and sharing, the “chill” space, which is at the heart of the project and greets the student from the main entrance. It’s the space to meet, chat, have fun, decompress, have a coffee. It’s also the place to watch live recordings of student radio broadcasts.

The spaces dedicated to students extend to the other levels, which house, among other things, the Racoin, a multifunctional room that opens up and extends into the inner courtyard between the adjacent pavilions; the Student Life Services management, financial aid, psychology and guidance services, representing over fifty offices.

The concept achieved has enabled the building to be opened up, adapted and modernized to better respond to the many vocational changes it has undergone, and to essentially make it the center of student life on campus.

The project in images