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Architects: ABCP architecture, Anne Carrier Architectes
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Stéphane Groleau
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Manufacturers: VMZINC
Text description provided by the architects. The former head office of Caisse Desjardins de Lévis in the Galeries Chagnon shopping center lacked natural light and was ill-adapted to the financial institution’s needs. This led the Caisse to relocate to the Desjardins campus. It was also an opportunity to bring together in one location a number of service outlets, including the Caisse de Bienville.
The project involved the construction of a new, four-story building designed to meet LEED certification standards. The new head office is a showcase for Desjardins Group, featuring innovative office layout, functional organization, and member services that reflect the institution’s modern image.
The building design preserves most of the surrounding green spaces and mature trees. The imposing main volume, which blends in with the built environment, is located on boulevard Alphonse-Desjardins, ensuring the institution’s street presence. A lower section runs along boulevard Alphonse-Desjardins. This L shape frames the park, preserving and enhancing its appeal.
The building’s shape also allows for flexible organization of the multipurpose ground floor, which contains a large foyer facing the park and, higher up, modular multipurpose rooms, reception areas, and offices.
The glass-walled ground floor provides a structured transition between the street and the member service areas. This spacious void supports the main volume, with its narrow zinc-colored vertical sections, providing natural light to all the offices. The façades contrast with a large atrium facing the park that houses offices suspended in a simple, streamlined structure. This organization visible from outside the building corresponds to the way the building is divided up and facilitates an understanding of the concept.
