ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Industrial Residues Technological Center (CTRI) in Rouyn-Noranda, Canada by BGLA | Architecture + Urban DesignFebruary 25th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: v2com The CTRI is a new research building on the site of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Cégep (equivalent to a Junior College) dedicated to recycling industrial residue and other underutilized resources. The building was designed to accommodate research laboratories specialized in three sectors: the mining industry, the biomass industry, and environmental engineering. In addition, it features offices for administrative staff and researchers and various public areas (conference room, kitchenette, service areas). The project also included the interior renovation of part of the main Cégep building.  View of the main façade, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault
 View of the main façade, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault Design CTRI’s directors and staff wanted a sustainable, contemporary design with its own visual identity, helping to distinguish the building from the rest of the campus. The architects responded by creating three main building volumes, each with its own choice of materials, evoking the three orientations of the research institute: metal skin for the mining sector, fiber-cement panels for the biomass sector, and stone gabions for environmental engineering. These three areas were connected by a wide corridor, open to a double-height glazed space on both levels. Tall curtain walls at either end face the Cégep to the east and the woods to the west, letting in morning light on one side and evening light on the other.  View of the glass wall in front of the wood structure, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  Main entrance indicated by a vertical glass prism, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault A glazed “Technology Showcase” on the south façade opens up the biomass lab to the outside and shows off the activities taking place within. It features a unique structural lattice formed of diagonal laminated wood timbers, highlighting the ingeniousness and expertise of the heavy timber industry the region is known for.  View of the East façade with the main circulation punching through, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of gabion walls contrasting with fiber-cement panels, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault Challenges and Opportunities Both architect and client envisioned a building with a wood structure, but as the budget did not allow for heavy timber construction for the entire building, standard joists were used in several places. The structure also had to be designed to reduce transmission of vibration from the movement of the forklift which is used in some areas of the ground floor.  View of stone gabion walls, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View from the adjacent land, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault The glulam lattice structure and the stone gabion walls presented real challenges to both the designers and the builders of the project. As the result of having met those challenges, the building’s architecture is a physical representation of the potential of research and creativity to find new ways to use and add value to raw materials such as wood and stone.  View of a laboratory, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of the biomass laboratory, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault Several sustainable development features were integrated in the design, each contributing its particular challenges: a solar wall for fresh air pre-heating, geothermal wells for heating and cooling, a Digital Addressable Lighting Interface for advanced lighting control, retention basins for controlling surface water on site, maximized use of structural wood, and a high-performance building envelope.  View of the structural system that forms a wooden mesh, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of the atrium and its wood structure, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of the open stairway in the hall, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of the open stairway in the hall, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault  View of the atrium crossing the second floor space, Image Courtesy © Christian Perreault
Tags: Canada, Rouyn-Noranda Category: Center |
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