The Parc des Saphirs project turned part of a wooded area beside the Royal Québec golf course into a city park. The resulting sports, fitness and family linear park now occupies a former Hydro-Québec easement. It will eventually include a ropes fitness course, strength-training stations, skating tracks, volleyball courts, and a BMX pump track. The main park facilities are an outdoor covered skating rink and service building.

The assignment was to provide a sheltered winter-and-summer space. It has a large roofed-over surface that serves as a skating rink in winter and can be used for dek hockey or basketball in summer. Putting a structure that size into a natural setting required a great deal of attention by the designers to would fit everything in. The building is set perpendicular to Rue des Saphirs on the edge of the woods. It has a 48-space parking lot for park users with decorative plants.  The open end of the rink faces the street to make it more inviting for the public. The few rooms required are at the other end, closing off the playing surface to the northwest to provide shelter from the prevailing winter winds. What makes the project unique however is the big roof with its wood‑and‑steel hybrid frame.

▼项目鸟瞰，Aerial View of the project ©Stéphane Groleau