PROJECT : SCHOOL ADDITION IN QUEBEC PROJECT TYPE : IDEAS COMPETITION - SHORTLISTED ENTRY. ACADEMIC, INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE, CONCEPTUAL. L'ECOLE D'ARCHITECTURE AT UNIVERSITY LAVAL IN QUEBEC, CANADA, CALLED FOR IDEAS TO EXTEND ITS OUTREACH TO THE QUEBEC COMMUNITY WITH A PROPOSED NEW ADDITION TO ITS HISTORIC SEMINARY BUILDING VIA AN OPEN IDEAS COMPETITION. IN RESPONSE, RYDE'S CONCEPTUAL PROPOSAL SEEKED TO ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS: CAN THE NEW ADDITION BECOME A CHANNEL REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND DRAWING IT IN TO INSPIRE AN ACTIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE AT GRASS-ROOTS LEVEL? CAN THE ADDITION HONOR THE SEMINARY'S HISTORIC & PAST MORPHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS BUT ALSO FREE ITSELF FROM THE LIMITATIONS OF THE PAST? OUR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN EMPHASIZED TWO GOALS: BREAK FREE | REACH OUT THE ADDITION EXTENDS OUTWARD FROM WITHIN THE HISTORIC BLOCK, REACHING OUT TO DRAW IN. IT DERIVES FROM THE INTRINSIC MORPHOLOGY OF THE PAST EVOLUTIONS BUT SEEKS TO DEFY THE BOUNDARIES OF PAST GROWTH. IT AIMS TO PHYSICALLY CONNECT ONE UNCONFINED EMBLEMATIC SPACE (THE SQUARE) TO ANOTHER CONFINED EMBLEMATIC SPACE (THE SEMINARY COURTYARD) AND BECOMES AN AGENT FOR THE REVERSAL OF FLOWS, BRINGING COMMUNITY TO THE HEART OF THE SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL TO THE CENTER OF THE COMMUNITY. INSERT | REMOVE TO REACH OUT & DRAW IN, THE ADDITION INFILTRATES THE EXISTING HISTORIC FABRIC IN A DARING AND SOMEWHAT INTRUSIVE MANNER. IT ALLOWS FOR INSERTION AND REMOVAL AT THE SAME TIME. FULLY GLAZED SKINS, EXPANSIVE NORTH LIGHTS ON THE ROOF & DORMERS OR VARYING SIZES MAKE THE VOLUME LIGHT AND AIRY AND MAXIMIZE TRANSPARENCY. INTERIOR DIVISIONS & WALLS DISAPPEAR CREATING A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF CHANGING PROGRAMS, MAKING VISIBLE, NOT THE BUILDING, BUT THE ACTIVITIES WITHIN.