Espace pour la vie - Volet A : Métamorphose de l'Insectarium / Space for Life - Project A: Insectarium Metamorphosis
2014
Montréal, Quebec, Canada- Architecture for culture, research, sport or leisure
- Building
- exhibition and research centre
Insectarium Metamorphosis
The Insectarium Metamorphosis project consists in expanding and redeveloping the actual building as well as some outdoor spaces in order to meet the growing demand of Montreal and international visitors. The project will develop new spaces like rooms as insects nests and integrated outdoor public spaces, all of which must be in perfect integration to the surrounding nature through a biophilic* architecture (*integration or evocation of nature from the design and architecture; planted walls and presence of water for example) and must be green in both the transformation of the existing building and the construction of the new spaces.
The sensory experiences and the new encounters with insects aim to reconnect humans to insects. Through architecture, some of these perceptual experiences, by playing with ruptures of scales and perspectives, will help to understand that the smallest is way bigger that we believe.
The main distinctive experiences of this extension are:
- a global multisensory encounter with insects through a new immersive space (aviary) with insects living in freedom;
- some destabilizing physical and perceptual experiences, carried everywhere through ruptures of scales and perspective in the architecture and museography;
- authentic and surprising encounters with one or many insect(s) within individual experience rooms (head-to-head), to tame our emotions and be surprised;
- be destabilized by the « insect timing», in real time, evolutionary time and in natural cycles, through the redeployment of naturalized collections;
- openings, through transparencies or access, to some technical systems to understand the efforts put into the ecological functioning of the building et the processes of supporting live insects;
- participation to creative and fabrication workshops.
The main purpose of the Insectarium's Metamorphosis is having people live sensory experiences and unseen encounters that aim to reconnect humans to insects in order to create an emotive connection necessary to the planet's future, to our future as a human being.
(From competition brief)
The Insectarium Metamorphosis project consists in expanding and redeveloping the actual building as well as some outdoor spaces in order to meet the growing demand of Montreal and international visitors. The project will develop new spaces like rooms as insects nests and integrated outdoor public spaces, all of which must be in perfect integration to the surrounding nature through a biophilic* architecture (*integration or evocation of nature from the design and architecture; planted walls and presence of water for example) and must be green in both the transformation of the existing building and the construction of the new spaces.
The sensory experiences and the new encounters with insects aim to reconnect humans to insects. Through architecture, some of these perceptual experiences, by playing with ruptures of scales and perspectives, will help to understand that the smallest is way bigger that we believe.
The main distinctive experiences of this extension are:
- a global multisensory encounter with insects through a new immersive space (aviary) with insects living in freedom;
- some destabilizing physical and perceptual experiences, carried everywhere through ruptures of scales and perspective in the architecture and museography;
- authentic and surprising encounters with one or many insect(s) within individual experience rooms (head-to-head), to tame our emotions and be surprised;
- be destabilized by the « insect timing», in real time, evolutionary time and in natural cycles, through the redeployment of naturalized collections;
- openings, through transparencies or access, to some technical systems to understand the efforts put into the ecological functioning of the building et the processes of supporting live insects;
- participation to creative and fabrication workshops.
The main purpose of the Insectarium's Metamorphosis is having people live sensory experiences and unseen encounters that aim to reconnect humans to insects in order to create an emotive connection necessary to the planet's future, to our future as a human being.
(From competition brief)