BOTANICAL GARDEN ENTRANCE PAVILLION
Following the recent Metamorphosis of the Montreal Insectarium and entrance to Maisonneuve Park, the adjacent Montreal Botanical Garden required a new access point. Positioned strategically at a bend in the approach path, the new reception pavilion is visible from both the park and the Insectarium. Its triangular footprint is tailored to traffic management - visitors enter through one side and exit through the other, following a natural flow. The triangular corners of the building serve as pillars supporting a broad, square roof. The interaction of the two geometries produces roof overhangs that produce ample shade and protection from the elements. From spring to mid-autumn, the pavilion's large sliding doors can be left open, blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. The assembly of its basic shapes lends a primitive aesthetic to the structure. As the Corten steel claddings gradually oxidize and climbing vines colonize the structure, the pavilion's appearance will evolve over time, gradually resembling a ruin reclaimed by nature.
