The ÃŽles-de-Boucherville National Park, which offers great outdoor experiences just minutes away from downtown-Montreal, is now equipped with a new discovery and services center designed by Smith Vigeant Architectes. Opened in June, the project recently received two awards at the 2017 American Architecture Prize, receiving a nod in the “recreational” category.
Photo credit: Adrien Williams
The center is both the main welcoming point for visitors of the park and a showcase building for Sepaq, the network of national parks in Quebec. Entirely made of local wood, the center confirms Sepaq?s commitment to be an ambassador of wood construction excellence and Smith Vigeant Architectes? expertise in wood construction design.
Photo credit: Adrien Williams The conceptual quality of this project is the result of an integrated design process and active collaboration between the architects, engineers and Sepaq?s team. The center invites visitors on a discovery of nature and provides a place for social interaction. The architecture respects and reflects its environment as the building achieves high standards of environmental performance and was designed to fit harmoniously within the site.
Photo credit: Adrien Williams
The buildings undulated edges were carefully placed to minimize tree cutting, and encourage visitors to wander around and progressively discover the space. The fluid motion is accentuated by a textured veil: a succession of wooden slats overlapping the siding...