Set within the Grande Prairie’s downtown civic precinct, the Montrose Cultural Centre is conceived as a new cultural hub and rejuvenated civic focal point for the city, housing the new Grande Prairie Public Library and the new and expanded home of the Prairie Art Gallery. The building’s reflective, shifting roofscape captures the unique qualities of light found in the Northern Prairie, drawing daylight deep into a colourful interior. The interior spaces lead the visitors through a sequence of coloured light fins, generating an irregular patchwork of shapes, shadows and colours recalling Alberta’s textured agricultural landscape.
The library houses print, periodical and reference collections, reading rooms, several community meeting rooms, state-of-the-art library services and information technology resources, exhibition spaces, event spaces, and a café. It is a two-storey structure with each of its levels interconnected visually as well as by a grade stair. The programs are arranged such that high-traffic, high-noise-level functions are grouped on the main floor, while quieter functions are situated on the second level.
Sophisticated indirect daylighting design, security and environmental systems were employed in the Art Gallery in order to protect its sensitive collections and maintain its status as a Category ‘A’ Institution as designated by the Moveable Cultural Properties Directorate of Canadian Heritage
Sustainability was a primary consideration of the design of this LEED Silver project set in a climate which experiences yearly temperature extremes. Energy efficiency is achieved through an efficient building envelope design, including triple glazing, in combination with displacement ventilation, heat recovery and the use of energy efficient lighting and building systems. Daylighting strategies minimize the need for artificial light during the day.
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