Award

June 2019

Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1123432

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 64 of 71

J UNE 2019 | 65 Excentricité – Collège La Cité PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY COLLÈGE LA CITÉ Excentricité – Collège La Cité by ROBIN BRUNET A rchitecturally, Collège La Cité in Ottawa is unique, seen above as a grand circle of buildings with inner green space and walkways, and flanked by a variety of massive learning hubs. It's therefore no surprise that the exte- rior of a new building, Excentricité, with its serrated facade of glass and wall panel, would enhance the college's modernist visual appeal. But the real appeal of Excentricité is its function. The facility was designed and constructed to be the college's flagship of immersive technology and entrepreneurship, a unique concept pavilion that aims to encourage the transmission of knowledge through testing and demonstration. Suzanne Gibault, Collège La Cité's executive director, ideation and cre- ativity bureau, says of the $30-million, 34,100-square-foot building, "This is the brainchild of our president and CEO, Lise Bourgeois, who in 2013 expressed her intent to create some- thing that would unite all of La Cité and be a centrepoint of the campus. "Bourgeois also conceived Excentricité as somewhat like one of those Russian dolls in that it would con- sist of a space within a space. It was a bold concept, but Collège La Cité has always been a hub of forward thinking." Working in close conjunction with Bourgeois, BBB Architects Ottawa Inc. designed Excentricité as a rotunda with plenty of natural light, thanks to mas- sive windows comprising much of its facade. The floor-to-ceiling glazing, arranged in a serrated, accordion-like pattern, would be augmented by a simi- larly articulated series of mineral fibre insulated wall panels for a distinct visual appearance. "The architects' design scheme maintained the continu- ity of the other buildings they originally created for La Cité," says Gibault. BBB Architects developed the main feature of the interior to be the Studio, a 4,000-square-foot space with immer- sive 360-degree projection capabilities and Sound Scape light and sound tech- nology. As an open concept meeting and gathering space, the Studio would be able to host over 1,200 guests; however, BBB also designed a series of retractable air walls that can be deployed in various other configura- tions for a slew of different educational, social, and collaborative applications – in addition to the fully immersive multimedia experiences. For some of these applications, BBB incorpo- rated into its design bleachers that can retract in less than three minutes and provide seating for 375 people. On the second floor, BBB designed numerous collaborative rooms to create La Factorie Desjardins, an ultra- modern concept of an entrepreneurial centre where researchers, entre- preneurs, and students would work together to develop new concepts and innovative products. Considering the elaborate projec- tion systems and two separate but equally elaborate audio systems for the Studio, the main challenge was how to keep this an open space while physi- cally accommodating the extensive technology. "The solution was to cre- ate an overhead catwalk that would span the entire building," says Gibault. Mike Mitani, senior associate for Smith + Andersen, says, "BIM and REVIT were heavily relied upon throughout the entire design process, and the catwalk effectively enabled rapid changes from one type of audio/ visual configuration to another. Additionally, BIM allowed us to pre- cisely co-ordinate, visualize, and manoeuvre the ductwork and other services, through and around the catwalk structure. This enabled for more height, and better operability and sightlines from the catwalk." Construction on Excentricité began in April of 2017, and Gibault notes that because the facility received funding from the federal and provincial gov- ernments, EllisDon Construction was obliged to complete work in the space of a year under a design-build delivery method: "The schedule for construc- tion was very short and difficult, as the weather didn't always co-operate. Plus, performance specifications were challenging to develop and enforce, especially in a project incorporating cutting-edge technology." However, building construction as well as the installation of seven screens and many other components was suc- cessfully completed, and on September 7 of 2018 government representatives and other dignitaries got a sneak peek of the new facility, which Bourgeois says will "contribute to the economic and socio-cultural development of the entire community and to the promo- tion of Francophone talents ready to change tomorrow." Gibault concludes, "Since September, over 8,000 people have visited Excentricité and events have been staged. It's a remarkable addition to our campus, and unique to the region." A LOCATION 801 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Collège La Cité ARCHITECT BBB Architects Ottawa Inc. DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR EllisDon Corporation STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Limited ELECTRICAL/ MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Gino J. Aiello Landscape Architect TOTAL SIZE 34,100 square feet TOTAL COST $30 million 2:29 PM 9:37 AM 10:53 AM

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Award - June 2019