École nationale de cirque / National Circus School
2001
Montréal, Quebec, Canada- Educational buildings
- Building
- School
This architectural competition was organized in 2001 for the study and realization of the École nationale de cirque (National Circus School), a national institution of higher-learning dedicated to circus arts and specialized in the professional training and perfection of performing artists.
Part of a vast undertaking that included the establishment, in Montréal, of the Cité des arts du cirque - a highly concentrated ensemble devoted to circus training, creation and production activities, this project for a circus district, under construction since the spring of 1999, was the result of a partnering and multi-sectarian approach involving a multitude of private and public partners. More specifically, the Cité des arts du cirque can be defined as, "a major physical and permanent grouping of people and circus infrastructure in the field of training, research, creation and production; a physical and virtual intersection, at a planetary scale, encouraging multicultural and multidisciplinary interaction; the cultural centre of the Saint Michel Environmental Complex, a major urban project for the revitalization of the Miron Quarry." In addition to the expansion of the Cirque du Soleil building and the construction of the École nationale de cirque, this project included several other facilities such as; the reception pavilion and the Chapiteau des arts (Arts Big Top).
The school building was to occupy a prominent place within the Cité, because it represented, "the cornerstone of its circus arts development mission." (From the competition programme, section 1.3 - Structural Context.) The programme anticipated various spaces devoted to teaching including; three large-scale studios, a palestra, two multifunctional dance studios, a physical training room, practice cubicles, a laboratory for the design and fabrication of accessories, a wardrobe, classrooms, a computer laboratory, a documentation centre, offices, an entrance hall, service rooms and parking.
(CCC text)
Part of a vast undertaking that included the establishment, in Montréal, of the Cité des arts du cirque - a highly concentrated ensemble devoted to circus training, creation and production activities, this project for a circus district, under construction since the spring of 1999, was the result of a partnering and multi-sectarian approach involving a multitude of private and public partners. More specifically, the Cité des arts du cirque can be defined as, "a major physical and permanent grouping of people and circus infrastructure in the field of training, research, creation and production; a physical and virtual intersection, at a planetary scale, encouraging multicultural and multidisciplinary interaction; the cultural centre of the Saint Michel Environmental Complex, a major urban project for the revitalization of the Miron Quarry." In addition to the expansion of the Cirque du Soleil building and the construction of the École nationale de cirque, this project included several other facilities such as; the reception pavilion and the Chapiteau des arts (Arts Big Top).
The school building was to occupy a prominent place within the Cité, because it represented, "the cornerstone of its circus arts development mission." (From the competition programme, section 1.3 - Structural Context.) The programme anticipated various spaces devoted to teaching including; three large-scale studios, a palestra, two multifunctional dance studios, a physical training room, practice cubicles, a laboratory for the design and fabrication of accessories, a wardrobe, classrooms, a computer laboratory, a documentation centre, offices, an entrance hall, service rooms and parking.
(CCC text)