The new secondary school is located at the edge of the largest commercial and industrial area in the east of Montreal. Its location will become an added value in time to the neighbourhood by improving services to its residents while enhancing the built environment. A landscaped bike path reaches the site and strengthens links with the community while promoting active mobility. Furthermore, students have access to municipal facilities, including the soccer field in the Parc Roger-Rousseau.
Teaching activities are spread over seven sections, each with eight classrooms, an art room and a collaborative space. The sports facilities are housed in a separate building and are available to local clubs outside of school hours. Between the two programs, a planted courtyard brings together the main circulation axes, embodying the flexible and sustainable vision of the project.
School communities are identified by a colour that in turn is applied to signage and wall surfaces. This visual marker responds to program requirements in a playful and inclusive way, fostering a sense of belonging among students. The garden-level and ground-floor house common spaces such as the large atrium and auditorium. Three works of art complete the project, including a series of floral sculptures by Marie-Michelle Deschamps. Inside, Nicolas Baier and Sylvain Bouthillette designed a modular aluminum structure and a mural for the northern entrance of the building.
The orientation of the structures and the distribution of the rooms were defined according to solar studies in order to optimize the overall energy performance. The building envelope features insulation that exceeds current standards, and is combined with triple glazing to reduce heat loss. A large geothermal system regulates the building’s temperature throughout the year. The roofs are covered with gravel and vegetation to reduce the heat island effect. All of these strategies meet the criteria for LEED Silver certification.
Read the Irma-LeVasseur High School booklet to explore the project's concept
Photo Credit: Raphaël Thibodeau + Maxime Brouillet
