Located in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest, the Cadillac-Larder Fault is a major geologic feature that cuts across Quebec’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue region and into Northern Ontario. It is the source of the region’s abundant mineral resources, and several major settlements were established along its length to engage in mining and forestry. One such settlement is the City of Rouyn-Noranda. Established in 1926, the city is said to occupy a space "between fault and forest", to borrow a phrase from a historical guide of the city’s rural quarters.

Given Rouyn-Noranda’s unique geography, the new air terminal serves not only to increase the city’s visibility as the capital of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, consolidating its position as the region’s principal airport hub, but it also highlights the importance of the mining and forestry industries to the city.

Rouyn-Noranda’s geography and local economy made wood a natural choice in the materials palette for the city’s new air terminal building, as it is both harvested and transformed within the region. Designers made a point of emphasizing wood’s unique properties by using it in all the terminal’s public spaces.

The terminal building is transparent and offers views of the tarmac from all public spaces. Two double-height halls bathed in natural light house passenger services, offering comfortable waiting areas for both arrivals and departures. The second storey includes a restaurant area with tables and lounge areas, all benefiting from unobstructed views on the exterior air side, and down onto the main public hall. A generous forecourt on the city side welcomes and shelters passengers at the drop-off area.

The Rouyn-Noranda Air Terminal is a single volume, two-storey building supported by a hybrid wood and steel structure. The public spaces are notable for their glue-laminated timber beams and cross-laminated timber (CLT) slab. CLT’s bi-directional bearing capacities were deployed to great effect for the structure’s cantilevered portions. The beams and slab continue from the interior to the exterior, directing views and strengthening the clarity of the composition. The whole is topped by a copper-colored metal roof, which folds over to function as a solar protection screen along the facades on both the city and air sides of the building. During the day, the perforated screen filters sunlight, preventing overheating and animating the interior spaces. At night, the perforated screen, illuminated from the inside, takes on the properties of a giant lantern.

The wooden structure is left visible inside; both the columns and beams, as well as the CLT slab on the ceiling. Since wood is not very conductive, the structure can continue uninterrupted from the inside to the outside, directing views toward the tarmac and supporting interior-exterior fluidity. From the entrance forecourt, passengers are greeted by imposing glue-laminated timber columns, which at their tops become beams, topped with an exposed CLT slab, all extending through the public space towards the tarmac.

The marriage of metal, wood, and glass is evocative of the city’s identity, "between fault and forest".

The new Rouyn-Noranda Air Terminal has recently won two awards:

A Citation award, given by the Canadian Wood Council as part of the Wood Design & Building Awards, recognizing the work of architectural professionals across the globe
A municipal involvement recognition award offered to the City of Rouyn-Noranda, given by Cecobois as part of their Awards of Excellence.

Team:

Client: Ville de Rouyn-Noranda

Architects: EVOQ + ARTCAD architects in joint venture

Other Participants:

Alain Fournier
Joël Sirard
Sami Tannoury
Kim An Truong
Karine Dieujuste
François Belleau
Louis Babin-St-Jean
Valérie Germain
Éric Leblanc
Éloïse Barry
Huayna Sanchez
Jean-François Lefebvre
Anne-Julie Nolet
Sébastien Daigle
Gabriel Paquette-Méthé
William Gallet
Marc-André Sorel
Chantal Auger
Geneviève René
Edith Dennis-Larocque

Engineers: DWB consultants

Contractor: Hardy Construction

Photographer: Maxime Brouillet 

Materials Used:

Engineered Wood: Nordic Structures

Lighting: Luxtec

Artwork: René Derouin

Located deep in Canada’s boreal forest, the Rouyn-Noranda Airport architecturally exemplifies the abundant mineral and forestry resources of Quebec's Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. The design teams EVOQ and ARTCAD architectes en consortium drew inspiration from the local resource industries and cohesively wove them throughout the space, from the exterior roofing to interior luminaires. The teams carefully selected Fluxwerx luminaires to echo the chosen design language, maintaining the architectural continuity found throughout while delivering excellent performance with exceptional visual experience to the occupants.

The glass-enclosed terminal building delivers views of the tarmac from all public spaces, connecting the interior to the outside and letting in abundant daylight. With the goal of lighting design having to strike the balance between functionality, flexibility, and sustainability, the design team selected a collective 456 feet of Fluxwerx Profile suspended linear luminaire for the main waiting area of the airport. 

Profile’s open architecture aesthetic creates "uninterrupted “ longitudinal clarity and transparency along the length of the luminaire, delivering bright, flexible general lighting through a hollow luminous aperture. The luminaire’s precisely controlled 40 Up | 60 Down optical distribution options allowed the design team to opt for a variety of lighting schemes, providing a uniform, glare-free, comfortable light for passengers and airport employees alike. Profile with its vertically oriented optics facilitates wide row spacing, up to 15 ft o.c., and can deliver up to 40fc on average while consuming less than 0.4 W/ft². 

Suspended amongst the magnificent timber beams that stretch across the ceiling the Profile luminaires are structure mounted and organically staggered, not unlike the visual lines found throughout a woodgrain. Specified in custom copper RAL finish, the luminaires echo the matching copper exterior roof and perforated screens, adding to the airport's overall visual unity.

The selected copper powdercoat finish pays tribute to the region's rich history of copper mining, blending a nod to its industrial heritage with contemporary design.

The airport’s meeting rooms and offices are illuminated by both Fluxwerx Profile Mini and Aperture suspended linear luminaires.

A diminutive linear LED pendant luminaire with a hollow aperture design, Profile Mini is a continuation of the minimalist architectural aesthetic of the original Profile series, delivering unparalleled longitudinal clarity and transparency along the length of the luminaire. Two 34-foot runs of Profile Mini were specified with a 65 Up | 35 Down lighting distribution, the miniaturized Anidolic optics delivering an optimal mix of comfort, efficiency, and performance. 

In addition to Profile Mini, the design team also specified a collective 84 feet of Aperture Circles. The luminaire’s transformative open design with a series of cellular voids allows clear views right through the luminaire to the architecture; all while still delivering an unparalleled visual experience that is simultaneously unique and comfortable. The chosen 20 Up | 80 Down lighting distributions provide well-balanced contrast and precise beam coverage on task surfaces. The Aperture luminaires are finished with anodized aluminum and flat endcaps, mirroring the visual language of the steel and wood structure.

Location: Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada

Project Completion: 2022

Sector: Civic Infrastructure - Airport

Architects: EVOQ + ARTCAD architectes en consortium

Engineers: DWB Consultants

Contractor: Hardy Construction

Lighting Agent: Luxtec

Photographer: Maxime Brouillet