With this Québec school project in the heart of Saguenay in the Chicoutimi district, three architectural firms joined forces to break the boundaries in education architecture. Agence Spatiale, Appareil Architecture and BGLA architecture took on the challenge to redesign a school which now inspires and redefines its entire genre.
École de l’Étincelle is set in Joachim Park, in the Chicoutimi district of Saguenay. It now represents a welcoming space that is friendly and accessible to the children that will attend. Saguenay is an area of very distinct culture that is defined by its surrounding natural environment, which includes local fjords and rivers. To respond to this, the architects focused on utilising local resources, constructing the school entirely out of wood - from the framework to its interior design.
École de l’Étincelle: a Québec school with a special twist
Separated into three different wings, the whole is easily navigable, helping with orientation as well as the children's safety. In the central wing, the traditional library is a welcoming, communal space with emphasis on collaboration. It overlooks into the surrounding courtyard. It is also the home of a series of culinary labs, with interior structures built to the students' scale.
The roofing of the lateral wings is sloped in a loose saw-tooth arrangement, emulating a cottage feel. Its shape further divides the space internally into three distinct areas. The classrooms are found here, positioned to benefit from the natural, northern sunlight. Radiant interstices connect each cottage-like space, which provide a visual opening towards the courtyard.
A key architectural feature is the central communal space titled ‘ The Chalet’. Designed to have domestic-like features, it includes a small living room, a kitchen with an island, and a dining area.
Staying in tune with the vibrant natural environment, the architects aimed high with their sustainable architecture agenda in terms of energy efficiency and materiality. The entire building is temperature controlled through centralised air-source heat pumps, which filter fresh air throughout. The Quebec school aims to achieve a LEED V4 certification, which recognizes efforts in energy performance and reductions in the ecological footprint; all the while providing an example of education architecture hat is firmly rooted in its context.
-
Year in review: the top 10 cars of 2024, selected by transport editor Jonathan BellWhat are our cars of the year? We’ve scoured the archives to unveil the machines that most impressed us over the past 12 months, from retro revivals to high-tech EVs
-
An Indian mud house - and more, on Sketch Design Studio's natural material wondersSketch Design Studio in Rajasthan, India does wonders with the simplest ingredients
-
Experience this Singapore apartment’s Zen-like qualities and cocooning urban havenWelcome to Singapore apartment The Rasidence, a spacious, Zen-like interior by Right Angle Studio
-
This sustainable family home is an Ontario retreat in tune with its settingRidge House by Superkül is a private Canadian retreat that nods to its context and embraces nature and landscape
-
Bunkie on The Hill is a cosy Canadian cottage full of charmBunkie on The Hill, a design by Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, is tucked into the trees, slotting neatly into Ontario's nature
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practicesIn the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
-
Svima looked to Japanese architecture, 'nature and ecology' for Passageway House in SerbiaThe Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024 includes Svima, a young Canadian practice joining our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
Arthur Erickson's Museum of Anthropology at UBC has been given a new lease of life in VancouverAfter an extensive renovation, The Museum of Anthropology is part Shinto shrine, part cathedral, part longhouse – and a temple to learning
-
A dramatic new lakeside cabin in the Canadian wilderness rises above the treesKariouk Architects' lakeside cabin ‘m.o.r.e. CLT’ explores new material approaches while making a minimal impact on a precious landscape
-
Forest Retreat is a new low-energy family house in the forests of OntarioSet beneath a vast roof, Forest Retreat is a rich mix of local materials, craftsmanship and space for an extended family to get together in the heart of nature
-
Join the West Coast Modern Week's Home Tour 2024 for modernist architecture and moreWest Coast Modern Week 2024 comes with its annual home tour courtesy of the West Vancouver Art Museum, offering an extensive, immersive showcase of Canada's modernist architecture
