Description of project by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes / HCMA
The project site is situated between the existing Émile Legault School and Raymond Bourque Arena, both of which are horizontal in form and neutral in character. For this project, it thus became vital for the design of new sports complex to create a visual and physical link between the Marcel Laurin Park (to the north of the site), and the projected green band that will run along Thimens Boulevard.
The sculptural nature of the project creates a strong link between these two natural elements in the urban fabric. Two angular objects—one prismatic, white and diaphanous, the other darker and stretched horizontally—embrace the specific programmatic functions of the project but simultaneously transcend these, inviting users and passersby from the boulevard, while serving as a signal for the passage toward the park beyond.
The two volumes appear to float, suspended by the kinetic energy emanating from the heart of the project, thereby evoking the dynamic nature of the activities (sports, athletics, training) taking place within.
Ultimately, the facility is designed to encourage sports participation and support healthy lifestyles in the community. The design accomplishes this through the integration of high performance sports venues bound together by a network of carefully considered social spaces.The result is a facility that supports the development of the community and adapts to the changing demands of its users.
Saucier + Perrotte Architectes. Founded in 1988 by Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte, Saucier + Perrotte architectes is a multidisciplinary practice internationally renowned for its institutional, cultural, and residential projects. The firm represented Canada at the Architecture Biennale of Venice in 2004, and has been honoured with numerous awards, including 8 Governor General’s Medals and Awards in architecture from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, three P/A Progressive Architecture honours, and two International Architecture Awards (presented by the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies).
The office continues to add to its significant body of built work in Canada, to expand its international portfolio of work abroad, and in 2009, Saucier + Perrotte received the RAIC Award of Excellence for Best Architectural Firm in Canada. More recently, in the fall of 2014, Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte were the first recipients of the new Prix du Québec, the Prix Ernest-Cormier, presented by Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications. This prize is Quebec’s highest distinction awarded to a person for his body of work and his career in the field of architecture and design.
Gilles Saucier received his diploma in architecture from Université Laval in Quebec City. In 1988, he founded Saucier + Perrotte architects, a multidisciplinary practice internationally renowned for its institutional, cultural, and residential projects.
As Design Partner, he is responsible for the overall design of each project, ensuring that the work of the firm responds to all design criteria, with specific attention to architecture’s connection to geology and the landscape. His commitment to design excellence is well recognized by the architectural press worldwide. The firm has been honoured with numerous awards, including 8 Governor General’s Medals and Awards in Architecture and two International Architecture Awards. In 2009, Saucier + Perrotte received the RAIC Award of Excellence for Best Architectural Firm in Canada. Furthermore, in 2014, Mr. Saucier, along with his partner Mr. Perrotte, were the first recipients of the new Prix du Québec, the Prix Ernest-Cormier.
Since 1989, he has been a visiting professor and an invited critic at several Canadian and American universities, including MIT, University of Montreal, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and University of Seattle. Mr. Saucier also frequently gives lectures on the firm’s work in North American universities.
In 2004, the firm represented Canada at the prestigious Architecture Biennale of Venice. In addition, Saucier + Perrotte has previously been part of three important exhibitions: “Les lieux de la couleur,” presented at the CCA in 2000, “Childhood Landscapes / Topographical Unfoldings” presented in Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, and Buffalo (USA) between 2002 and 2004, and more recently “Substance Over Spectacle” in Vancouver (2005). In 2002, the Canadian Centre for Architecture began archiving architectural drawings and models by Saucier + Perrotte, and in 2007, the CCA selected the firm to design its exhibition on the Oil
Crisis of the 1970’s, entitled “1973: Sorry, Out of Gas.”
Gilles Saucier is also a photographer and his work in that field has fine-tuned his approach to architecture and helped evolve his perspective on the world.
André Perrotte studied architecture at Laval University in Quebec City where he received his degree in 1982 (B.Arch).
As Project Architect, André Perrotte is in charge of the coordination for each step of the design and construction process and is in charge of the administrative management of each dossier with the client. He is involved in the design in conjunction with Gilles Saucier and directs the flow of information between all parties involved in the design process.
André Perrotte possesses a vast field of expertise, mainly in managing multidisciplinary teams from control to production, costs to schedules, and techniques to construction systems. He is widely recognized for the rigor and creativity of his approach towards construction as an expression of contemporary culture. The firm has been honoured with numerous awards, including 8 Governor General’s Medals and Awards in Architecture and two International Architecture Awards. In 2009, Saucier + Perrotte received the RAIC Award of Excellence for Best Architectural Firm in Canada. Furthermore, in 2014, Mr. Perrotte, along with
his partner Mr. Saucier, were the first recipients of the new Prix du Québec, the Prix Ernest-Cormier
Since 1989 André Perrotte has taught architecture and been a visiting critic at several Canadian universities, including University of Montreal, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, McGill
University, and UQAM (University of Quebec at Montreal).
