Client
Commission des champs de bataille nationaux
Location
Quebec City
Date of production
2008
Production cost
0,5M$
Size
100 m²
Floors
1
Although small in size, the Taché Street Service Center is a singular building. It not only had to fulfill the needs of the regular park visitors, but it also had to fit in the Abraham Plains’ historic context and be able to welcome large number of people during festive events. Its architectural treatment also had to take into account its strong-featured neighbours and complete the Joan of Arc Garden’s axis.
The pavilion was designed to be used for a century, much longer than the usual lifespan of such buildings. This expected durability is reflected in the timelessness of the design and materials, although its contemporaneousness is also expressed in its refined architectural details. One of these, the windows’ apparent lack of mullions, allows the building to be widely open to the outside, clearly expressing its public use. Its copper roof also adds a paradoxical temporal quality: representing a sense of durability and timelessness, it also alters itself through time. Part of the Plains’ building tradition, this copper roof also gives a tactile sensitivity to the building.
The use of limestone, another echo of the past, is emphasized with design choices making the most of its possibilities: durability, texture, relative lightness brought by the use of free lintels… The wooden exterior ceiling, windows and doors bring a visibly warm touch to the composition, while the ceramic tiles, bringing to mind both black granite and grey stone, add subtly but brightly to the material and temporal sobriety of the building.
The users’ comfort is also an important aspect of the project. Access to the building is framed by two opened stone walls which support a large roof. This space, well-protected from the weather, becomes an outside room which extends inside the generously sized lobby. Inside the restrooms, the wall tiles lighten and shine to express the sanitary function of the space. The large windowsills and the high quality of all finishes complete the warm atmosphere of the pavilion.
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