Aux-Couleurs-du-Savoir Elementary School
Aux Couleurs-du-Savoir Elementary School, in Saint-Jérôme’s Bellefeuille district, is located directly next to Highway 15. The resulting major noise constraints required the school’s insertion parallel to the highway as a means of protecting the outdoor playgrounds located on the far side from this sonic nuisance.
Just south of the school, a ridge of earth and some vegetation complete this acoustic barrier. As for indoor noise levels, the project’s construction materials and building assemblies were selected for their sound absorption and low transmission properties.
Architects
Birtz Bastien Beaudoin Laforest
Electromechanical
Dessau (Stantec)
Photography
Stéphane Brügger
Contractor
Consortium M.R.
Structure
Dessau (Stantec)
Partners
Bergeron Thouin
Country
Canada
City
Saint-Jérôme
Client
Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord
Surface Area
5,294 m²
Year
2015
The building consists of two main volumes: a three-storey teaching block and a two-storey sports block. They are connected by a low volume that houses administrative, daycare and multifunctional spaces. Spaces are deployed around simple circulation pathways, facilitating finding one’s way from any point and providing views of the outdoors.
The two long facades of the teaching block are comprised of harmoniously arranged vertical strips in a green-to-blue dégradé, creating a sense of motion for both passing drivers and the children in the schoolyard.
The schoolyard is partially paved because the play surfaces require it, but a green expanse complete with a natural wooded area has been preserved. The yard is protected and framed by the teaching block and the connecting volume. The latter opens out vertically toward the green expanse and laterally toward the yard and the teaching block, creating fluidity between the indoors and the outdoors.
Colour is utilized again indoors in a wayfinding role, with each classroom identified with a different colour.