Saint-Viateur-Clotilde-Raymond school

Reimagining Saint-Viateur School: Preserving Heritage, Securing the Future, Where Tradition Meets Modernity 

This project expands and reconfigures École Saint-Viateur in Saint-Rémi, commissioned by the Centre de services scolaire des Grandes Seigneuries. The scope includes nine new classrooms, a double gymnasium, and associated support spaces. The main building dates to 1886, constructed by the Clerics of Saint Viator, and carries recognized heritage status. Wings were added in 1935 and 1946, with a further addition in 2011 to introduce elevator access.

The new addition extends directly from the four-storey Southeast wing. Beyond the building itself, the project reorganized the rear drop-off area — relocating the daycare and its entrance into the addition, and creating a safe passenger drop-off zone with dedicated short-term parent parking.

Mechanical systems rely on geothermal heating and cooling, supplemented by high-efficiency ventilation. The lower floors accommodate the gymnasium, daycare, and library; classrooms occupy the upper levels. Where the new addition meets the existing building, a shared gathering space serves as a transitional hub. On the first two floors, a playful curtain wall with pre-painted blue mullion covers gives the facade a distinctive character, while the upper storeys adopt the red brick language of the existing wing. The gymnasium volume, set against the Southeast wing extension, responds to the grey stone of the original main building. A mechanical room and music room occupy the floor above the gymnasium's support spaces.

School administration made it a priority to keep all classes of the same grade on a single floor — a deliberate strategy to support academic achievement. The layout of grade cycles across each level was developed in close collaboration with school leadership. Preschool classrooms are located at ground level for easy access to the courtyard and shared amenities.

A tiered gathering space, sized to hold two classes simultaneously, sits at the heart of the school's communal zone — serving public, athletic, and cultural functions alike. Its blue tones connect it visually to the exterior palette of the addition.

The library and learning hub is wrapped in curtain wall glazing, offering views onto the wooded roundabout and the entry forecourt. Seating built into the base of the curtain wall gives children a comfortable reading nook within the library. A custom furniture piece — designed in the shape of a small house — divides the librarian's work area from the children's zone, stores graphic novels, and conceals a structural bracing element within its triangular form.

The daycare and gymnasium entrance opens onto a forecourt anchored by a sculpture by artist Guillaume Boudrias-Plouffe. The work, titled t'as les deux pieds sur terre et la tête dans les nuages (You've Got Your Feet on the Ground and Your Head in the Clouds), rests on a concrete base that also functions as a bench. Additional prefabricated concrete benches animate the surrounding plaza, which connects to a municipal BMX area nearby.

The public art program required the sculpture to be visible from both the library and the daycare — a condition that shaped its placement from the outset. The selection committee recognized the work for its exceptional poetic sensibility. Composed of cloud-rock forms appearing to drift on the wind, the piece draws its inspiration from the rocky outcroppings found scattered across the agricultural fields of the region. Its scale is calibrated precisely to its setting, and it enters into quiet dialogue with the building's architectural character. The rods supporting the cloud-rock elements are finished in the same RAL blue as the curtain wall mullions and the gymnasium's interior wall — a colour thread that ties artwork to architecture. The cloud-rock forms themselves take on the warm, layered tones of a sunset sky. Through research conducted with the Saint-Rémi historical committee, the artist wove references to local wrought iron craft into the ornamental bases of the rods. The rods lean into the prevailing westerly winds — a subtle, site-specific gesture rooted in the character of the region.

Student Success Indicators

Student well-being is central to the design. Versatile gathering spaces support both formal and informal learning, while a unified colour palette creates a sense of coherence and identity throughout the school. A distinctive accent hue defines the building's contemporary character, and generous glazing brings natural light deep into the learning environment.