The Multifunctional Cultural Centre project serves as a catalyst for the consolidation of its Centennial Park and marina into a “river landscape park”, and for the strengthening of the civic and cultural heart of the city of Beaconsfield.
Site Morphology : Landscaped Waves
The contact between land and water composes the site’s natural topography and landscape on a territorial scale. The landscape park highlights strips which run parallel to the shore – landscaped waves – the characteristics of which allow each section its particular vocation of amplifying the site’s activity and the potential for new uses: the riverside band – conducive to contemplation – takes advantage of the water as a natural attraction; the grassy plain, perfect for different kinds of gatherings; the wooded canopy, designed for discovery; and the urban filter, a reception area for the community which also forges links with Beaconsfield Boulevard, the Park of Heros and, at a larger scale, Beaconsfield’s civic core.
Community History: Landscaped Lots
Human occupation on the site is marked by lines perpendicular to the lake’s shore. These include: three lots from the site’s agricultural past still visible through rows of trees; paths leading to the shore, including a large opening leading down to the marina; docks which enter the water; a channel which evacuates water directly into the lake. They are all historical lines traced by the community. The “landscape lots” – historical, wet and communal – weave themselves into the “landscaped waves”, creating a framework where nature, landscape, history, and community are combined. Their singular characteristics, superimposed and highlighted, generate new arrangements and usage scenarios, and contribute to anchoring the new cultural center in the park and the community.
An implementation which infiltrates the landscape
he Cultural Centre faces towards the centre of the new park, straddling the branches, in order to facilitate accessibility. Its layout is respectful of nature. It unfolds organically while infiltrating the existing trees of the wooded canopy. By skirting around the trees – in order to preserve them – it forms several branches which compose semi-open courtyards, bringing the park into the heart of the building. These configurations create a welcoming heart at the building’s centre, where access paths designed from Beaconsfield Boulevard converge. A network of walkways connects the boulevard, the heart of the Cultural Centre, the park, and the lake.
An inviting form which blends with the landscape
The building’s shape is one with the landscape. Its exterior courtyards (facing the lake) open onto the countryside, provide views of some of its important landmarks, and highlight its components. On the north side, the building arches to welcome the community arriving from Beaconsfield Street. The eastern branch – situated outside the woods – signals the Centre from Beaconsfield Boulevard, thanks to the visual sightline towards the water which has been preserved and reinforced. Parallel to the marina’s wharf, it points in its direction.
Extensions which lengthen the Centre towards the park
Following the topography which descends towards Lake Saint-Louis, there is a difference in levels between that of the main entrance and that of the courtyards situated on the south side. The latter are furnished with wooden platforms – bleachers, steps, and ramps – whic connect the building’s ground floor level to the ground descending towards the shore. As extensions of the building’s interior spaces to the exterior, the courtyards are welcoming and accessible to all of the park’s users. One courtyard serves as the bistro-terrace. Another allows entry to the youth section, and may be converted to an outdoor activity room in good weather, as well as providing access to the nearby playground. Yet another may be used as a reading space for adults and teenagers.
A large, welcoming, and protective roof
A large roof, with overhangs of variable depths, welcomes citizens at the Centre’s main entrance, protects the interior spaces from the sun’s rays on the south side, creates a canopy for a section of the bistro-terrace, and covers all secondary entrances. The soffits thus created and covered with wood paneling, bolster the visual continuity between interior and exterior spaces. Slightly inclined, the roof assigns appropriate heights to different areas, and allows for the insertion of the mechanical room on the mezzanine, situated above the service areas and support for the stage. At lower heights on the entrance side, the roof rises gently, following the direction of the three branches, and opens the spaces towards the lake.
An open and fluid spatial and programmatic organization
The Cultural Centre is user-friendly. Organised on a single level and on a scale appropriate to the size of its surrounding context, it encourages meetings amongst people in the community. The different views it offers to the exterior delineates a natural orientation of the Centre’s interior, in relation to the park. At its entrance, the circulation areas are clearly expressed and affirm the different programmatic wings within the building.
The lobby – bathed in natural light – is located at the heart of the building, between the entrance and the courtyard housing the bistro-terrace. It is the place where different programmatic areas converge. At the crossroads of movement through the building, its open and versatile space encourages temporary and pop-up activities for the community.
Fluid interior spaces, along with moments of spatial contraction created by the Centre’s courtyards, naturally separate various zones and sub-zones. The bistro-terrace – visible and accessible from the lobby – is located at the end of the eastern wing, dedicated to the Animation zone. The multipurpose room – adjacent to the bistro and directly linked to the terrace – offers the possibility of an outdoor stage overlooking the esplanade. The library is articulated in the building’s two wings to the west, situated on either side of the second courtyard. The administrative sector is housed in the wing adjacent to the entrance, at the intersection of the Animation and Library zones, and overlooks a fourth, and more private, interior, tree-lined courtyard.
