The new Saul-Bellow Library asserts its civic and cultural presence through contemporary architecture. The volume of its large lobby dominates the street corner, folding and enveloping the old structure. The reading room appears in the foreground, while in the half-light it transforms into a luminous lantern and program signage. This volumetric advance establishes a close relationship between the library and the civic space of the public street. It not only accentuates the visibility of the commercial nature of the street, but also opens, from the interior, long perspectives on the large, now landscaped, alley of 32nd Avenue. The new Saul Fellowship Library participates in the cultural and economic life of the community through its street-facing windows. As a catalyst, the library is the seed planted in a broad field of future urban initiatives. As such, the following orientations guide the creation of the project:
* affirm the site's belonging and identity in the City through a redefinition of its geographic center as a cultural and economic hub;
* affirm the social, cultural and economic role of the new Saul-Bellow Library through an architectural strategy of "experiential marketing";
* to establish the site as a pivotal element between the canal and the city by creating safe and user-friendly links between the site, the commercial area and Old Lachine
* open the library to the surrounding community and contribute to the intensification of urban life;
* provide generous public spaces that promote community events and spontaneous gatherings.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Criterion 1:
The potential for evolution is in the architectural treatment of the envelope, with little materiality defined.
The team offers all the potential to achieve an IDP.
Criteria 2 and 3:
The concept, via the urban analysis, proposes a certain potential for evolution but the interior concept is more interventionist except on the existing: which becomes easily redevelopable.
Criteria 4 and 5:
The concept, very clear from the entrance, offers few opportunities for discovery.
The hall, of a beautiful spatial quality, represents an acoustic danger.
The bioclimatic strategy is easily integrated into the concept, due to the good use of the south façade and the modulation of the fenestration.
Criteria 5 and 6:
Despite a beautiful elevation on 32nd Street, a well-located and visible entrance and a well-developed landscape concept, the architectural treatment is more or less convincing in terms of signage. Its identity potential remains to be developed.
In terms of budget, the estimation work confirms the feasibility of the concept thanks to its more traditional language and respect for the surface areas.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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