EMBLEMATIC ADDITION for UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL
In order for an architecture school to develop, it must adapt to the shirting landscape of the field itself. Over the years, Laval has evolved as a school that takes physical change in stride. Multiple additions, disasters, reconstructions, and renovations have made the existing structure a palimpsest of architecture. In the past, a bridge between the Seminary and the School was once a defining feature. I have taken this as precedent for the Emblematic Addition.
The primary expectation for this addition is for it to be "emblematic", or, serving as symbol or illustration of a particular type. In this case, the typology is an architecture school, and this addition Is both the symbol of the school and the manifestation of the development of North American architecture. An emblem can be further defined as a raised ornament, and insertion, something which represents the larger whole. Furthermore, the competition asks that one provide a central gathering space for students and faculty, reorient the program and circulation, and become a symbol of cultural vitality.
These issues are resolved by a process called program Extraction. The courtyard provides a unique design challenge: how to respect a UNESCO World Heritage Site white solving an existing programmatic issue. The three primary facades of the courtyard were analysed in terms of program, which reveals that the existing school is quite complicated, despite its austere facade. Not just complex, the program layout of the existing building is also disjointed and convoluted. In order to combat this, program was pulled through the facade into the courtyard towards a central program element. Studios on the extreme wings of the building are connected with the heart of the academic portion of the building, the North Facade. The Gathering Space, with amphitheatre, must be centralized in order to connect the disparate spaces of the existing building. Therefore, the courtyard void must be cautiously filled with program. Another opportunity exists for the required multi-use space. Hallways, which connect the studios with the central amphitheatre, also serve as critique spaces, where ail students can converge to see each other's work.
The form of the Emblematic Addition is a result of careful sun analysis and program considerations. Opening to the South, light will pour into the new space, relieving the tight existing spaces. Closed to the North for insulation, the Addition takes advantage of the natural day lighting conditions of the site. Furthermore, the Addition sets off of the facade so that existing spaces can still have natural light and selected views. One of the primary entrances to the existing structure is articulated with a concrete receiving wall, indicating both the location and nature of the structure above.
Structurally, the Emblematic Addition is somewhat dependent on the existing structure. Still, additional support columns and a heavy concrete receiving wall will be necessary to support the massive cantilevers of the Addition. Skewed, directional trusses keep the building rigid, while a rich skip of orange metal panels wraps tightly around the structure. The result is a space where one can feel the structure and its power while enjoying the freedom of space it provides.
The Emblematic Addition transforms this once beautifully disjunct school into an integrated system of programmatic elements. As an emblem for Laval, the Addition signals the re-birth of the school in the 21st century as a cutting edge institution
(competitor's text)
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