"The link between earth and sky is at the image of the one that links childhood, through memory and knowledge, to an infinite world of insight and communication." (Gilles Saucier)
The Saucier-Perrotte project suggests a site development in harmony with the Parc de la Cité's natural vegetation, by adding a rectangular north-south oriented building almost entirely concealed by the existing flora. The denuded and urban esthetical expression of this architecture creates a contrast with the rustic and natural character of the immediate environment.
The arrival is characterized by a large and central public place, connecting the library to the various outdoor areas (parks, pedestrian walkway, bicycle paths, bus stops and parking areas) which are distinguished by the materiality of their grounds. The entrance of the library is indicated by a square unfolding through these spaces in order to lead the users to the building.
Formally, the library is a long and dark mass pierced by an aerial and luminous volume reaching towards the sky. The main hall, located at the base of this opalescent lantern offers a vast reception area illuminated by a skylight. This atrium is the meeting point between the main circulation of the ground floor and the reading spaces of the upper floors, accessible by a wide staircase leading to a terrace overlooking the park.
(CCC text)
The jury appreciates the momentum given to the project by the underlying idea of the earth to sky movement. It noted that the ensuing element, the opalescent lantern that culminates the composition, cannot withstand the tight budget evaluation and that its disappearance would lead to the loss of the sense of the project.
The jury appreciates the quality of the envelope proposed, which integrates nature in the project by a set of reflections generated by different materials. Paradoxically, it seems that the character and the overall tone of the building, would respond better to an urban context than to the bucolic context of the park.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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