A Library for the City
The competition for the Marc Favreau library in Rosemont arrived just in time to take an important step in the regeneration of the site's former municipal workshops. The site, located along a railway, was occupied by labour facilities disconnected from residential zoning, interrupting the regular fabric of the city. In the late 80\'s, a public consultation offered a shared vision suggesting a redevelopment strategy for the site. The bus terminal, subway station and the existing Art Deco building, dating back to 1932, defined a civil space offering great potential. The rest of the site would be dedicated to residential occupation.
In 1990, at the corner of St-Denis and des Carrières, a first set of 150 homes was built by the Municipal Housing Bureau of Montreal. It was after the public consultation of 2006 that the proposal for a civil front on Rosemont Street had taken shape, and a comprehensive plan was developed. It was leaning towards two possible solutions: the concept of a super block and the idea of extending the street grid with higher buildings around the perimeter of the site and landscape design in the center. The project developed by Rachel & Julien, and designed by Cardinal Hardy, strengthened this idea with a residential building composed of 335 units, reinforcing the eastern edge of site, along St-Hubert Street. We are still anticipating the public place or building that will in turn reinforce the western edge of the site, at the corner of St-Denis and Rosemont, at the steps of the subway station.
In 2007, the City of Montreal unveiled the project for a new family-oriented library, allowing the neighbourhood's population to access a collection of books, as the area is identified as one of the most underserved in Montreal. The district came out of \"the era of darkness\" as evoked the Mayor of the district at the time. In 2008, the name of the library and the adjacent park was announced to the public. As a tribute to \"Sol et Gobelet\", the library adopted the name of Marc Favreau, and the park, Luc Durand.
During the summer of 2009, a two-stage competition was launched. The first step was to select four teams of finalists including engineers and appraisers, based solely on a preliminary submission, rather than sketches or concepts. The site's area for the project was 3000 square meters, 500 of which were found in the existing building to be renovated. The proposal for the project had to meet LEED certification requirements and the budget was set at $ 7,564,000. Four avant-garde concepts were also suggested: a family-oriented environment (for adults, adolescents and children), the integration of new information technologies, the quality of the design, and a sustainable project.
At the end of the first phase in September 2009, the four selected teams were: Corriveau Girard and Eric Pelletier, architects; Dan Hanganu, architects; FABG architects; and finally Manon Asselin, architect working with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte, better known as Atelier Tag and JLP Architects.
The jury, chaired by Mario Saia, evaluated the finalists on December 15, 2009 and announced the results the following day. The jury's report is available, and reflects the discussion between members of the jury. It is very informative concerning the relative importance given to design principles and evaluation criteria, which are all covered. Generally, one can say that the discussion is directed firstly towards the criteria related to the form and the program and, secondly, around those intersecting the technical aspects. Comments on the architectural form are more subjective, while those concerning the technical aspects seem to be more objective.
If we give more importance to public space in the jury's decision, then Dan Hanganu's submission becomes the more obvious choice. Given that masonry is part of the winning project, it is often cited as a positive reference in response to the popular representation of the city. But in this case, it is the context which seems more important, a dimension which was not really discussed by the jury in this case. Dan Hanganu's proposal was not composed as a unique architectural feat, which usually emphasises an interior spatial arrangement, and paths shaped by the intersection between volumes and light. Breaking away from this design strategy, the composition here is much more urban oriented. It brings together several elements including the existing building, and this approach could be described as a heterotopic composition. The façade is constructed by creating a second masonry wall facing the metro station, perpendicular to the existing building, shedding its base to the south and slightly bending to the west. The link with the existing building is through a well marked entrance on Rosemont, aligned with the Art Deco building. Enclosed between the old and the new, a glass volume can be found, which allows interior and exterior space to mix, linking the park and the library. This approach, which owes as much to Alvar Aalto as to inflections of modern critical regionalism, has the merit of demonstrating that a small project can help build the Grand City.
(Translated by David Grenier)
The borough of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie has launched on July 9th, 2009, a Québec-wide architecture competition for construction of the new Bibliothèque Marc-Favreau.
The library is to be built on the site of the former municipal yards, located south of Boulevard Rosemont between Rue Saint-Denis and Rue Saint-Hubert, and extending as far as Rue Carrières. A park named in honour of actor Luc Durand will be built not far from the library at the same site, on which some 500 residential units will also be built, including two community housing projects and one condo development.
The library, which will incorporate the existing heritage building at 700 Boulevard Rosemont, is one of the central elements in the revitalization of this neighbourhood, which aims to become a model for urban planning based on families, social mix and sustainable development.
(From competition documentation)
After holding discussions of equal length for each of the four projects, the jury members first eliminated the MA JLP project due to the negative points previously mentioned.
Subsequently, the projects of CG EP, FABG and DH were compared on several of the points cited and were all of great interest for different reasons. It was agreed that on the last six evaluation criteria in the competition rules (listed in section 2.0 of this report) the three competing finalists demonstrated good responses to these criteria and that the next discussions would focus on the first four criteria listed.
After much discussion and argument, the jury continued its discussions with the CG EP and DH projects, leaving FABG's project aside for the following main reasons
-The treatment of the Rosemont Street façade does not enhance the expansion or the 700. Rather, this façade appears to be in competition with the 700.
-The main entrance lacks definition.
-The clean lines of the submitted drawings will be complicated by the development of details ensuring a good thermal envelope.
-The TC report notes the increased financial risk of the project.
-This project will generate strong positive appreciation, but also strong negative reactions. Its ageing in time is questioned.
After intense discussions, the members of the jury unanimously voted for the project of Dan Hanganu architects as the winner of the competition for the following reasons
-Montreal wants to position itself as an internationally recognized design metropolis. Libraries will have an important role to play in this regard. They will have to put forward knowledge, culture and innovation. Its orientations are felt in the DH project.
-The meeting of the transparency framed by the two masses of masonry, that is to say the 700 and the box is appreciated by the Jury. The use of masonry has a reassuring effect and favors the positive appreciation of the population. Its transparent spaces open up to the world, unlike the CG EP project, which presents an almost silent façade on Rosemont Street. The lantern of the DH project constitutes the cultural showcase desired in the major orientations of the City of Design, all supported by SOL, via the imposing column of the forecourt.
-The implementation of the DH project is better adapted to the urban grid and the site than the CG EP project. It is important to realize that a park in an urban setting must be surrounded by a multiplicity of occupants. By taking up less space adjacent to the park, the proposed DH building allows for a greater number of occupants. The CG EP project takes up a large portion of the park's edge and does not respect the density of the area.
The jury supports the report of the Technical Commission and points out that in the context of an architectural competition, the designer has no personal link with the client. This can lead to some nuanced interpretations of the program. Following the competition, the designer and the user can finally sit down at the same table and make some adjustments, without of course distorting the concept. All the finalists have expressed a desire to develop their project in close collaboration with the client. The jury underlines the following recommendations for the further development of the winning project:
-In order to tie the interior spaces to the PFT, the designer will need to coordinate them with the client.
-DH will need to ensure that all floors have adequate load bearing capacity for a library.
-The unnamed volume behind 700 should be better defined.
The jury members all signed off on the winner at the end of the day's deliberations, which was delivered to you on December 17.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
