Extreme conversion: Soaring Canadian church transformed into contemporary library

Even before the St. Denys-du-Plateau Church was converted into a library, it was an unusual building. Designed by the late Jean-Marie Roy in 1964, the house of worship in Quebec had a unique and dynamic volume—the building evoked a huge tent inflated by the wind.

When Dan Hanganu Architectes and Côté Leahy Cardas Architectes took on the conversion project, they wanted to respect the original building. Almost all of the original structure remains, along with two additions.

What was once the nave now contains the library's shelves and work areas, while the new addition houses the administrative offices and community hall. This separation allows for the community hall to be open even when the library is closed, according to Dezeen.

Preserving the structure's existing volume was paramount for the architects, and they did this without closing off the spacious nave. In addition, "to accentuate the fluidity of this volume, the solid soffit above the window has been replaced by glass panel which allows each beam to visually slip seamlessly to its exterior steel base—a revelation of visual continuity," the firms said in a press release.

The new community hall and offices are contained in the larger of the two additions, which replaces the former presbytery. However, the new part of the building reserves the same footprint. Three different types of glass panels were used to construct this area: clear, silk-screened and colored. The second addition satisfies a requirement for an emergency escape staircase, and is also paneled with colored glass.

The firms sum up this design: "Building on transparency and reflection, the architects have made a strong statement with color at the ends of the building, an allusion to the vibrant, bold colors of the 1960s, which contrast the whiteness and brilliance newly captured in the remarkable form of the original church."

Now the Monique-Corriveau Library, the facility is named for a successful local children's author.

Take a look at the finished conversion below. All photos by Stéphane Groleau.

Two of Perkins Eastman’s firm leaders—Mary-Jean Eastman, FAIA, Vice Chair and Managing Principal of its New York City studio, and Barbara Mullenex, AIA, Managing Principal of the Washington, D.C., studio—will share anecdotes about their personal journeys to the top of a global architecture, design, and planning firm, at Building Design+Construction's fourth annual Women in Design+Construction Conference. The event will take place November 11-13, 2019, at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Row New York Boathouse, courtesy Foster + Partners

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jun 27, 2019

Foster + Partners unveils design of wooden boathouse for Row New York

The project will sit on the banks of the Harlem River in Sherman Creek Park.

A new McKinsey report says factory-built modular construction could be next big shift in the industry.

Building Tech | Jun 26, 2019

Modular construction can deliver projects 50% faster

Modular construction can deliver projects 20% to 50% faster than traditional methods and drastically reshape how buildings are delivered, according to a new report from McKinsey & Co.