Saul-Bellow Library

Project Description

Following an architectural competition in 2011, the firm CHEVALIER MORALES ARCHITECTES received the mandate to expand, redesign and bring to compliance the old Lachine borough library, dating back to 1974. This neighbourhood library not meeting user and employee needs anymore, the architects Stephan Chevalier and Sergio Morales made this location a 21st century library: attractive, luminous and stimulating conversation. The project aimed for a LEED certification as well as to be an example of sustainable development principles.
CHEVALIER MORALES imagined what the library and its neighbourhood could become, in 20 years, if the densification, greening and transportation improvement principles mentioned in the urban plan were achieved and implemented. What would happen to the library, its parking lot and Patterson Park? The firm tried to contribute to the enrichment of these principles by proposing possible solutions for the year 2031. A development integrating a long term vision brings added thoroughness and relevance to the proposed design. The design approach seeks to be global and evolutionary; it proposes paths to address real societal issues instead of lingering on immediate issues. The 21st century library is imagined as a pivot for a dense and dynamic area were many mixed daily activities occur.