A Striking Visitor Center Makes An Appearance In The Forest

Architects France Ducharme and Martin Dufour have designed a reception center for visitors to the Aditus development in Harrington, Quebec, Canada.

The project description

Project abstract – The pavilion was designed as a visitor centre for prospective clients of the Aditus development. It serves double duty as an entrance beacon and showroom, highlighting the natural environment that surrounds it. Gracefully deposited in the middle of a mature woodland, the pavilion reveals the exceptional nature of the terrain and offers various impressions of the site.

Architectural concept – The Aditus pavilion gives visitors the feel of a contemporary interior, while projecting them outward… into nature. Born out of this duality is the concept of the “inside-out box”.

Above a solid wood post and beam structure, the non-orthogonal geometry of the roof seems to almost float among the trees, reminiscent of a primitive shelter. The interior space is bound by a rectangular glass box that slips delicately between the wood posts. As a result, physical barriers between inside and outside simply fade away.