In Montreal’s Villeray neighbourhood, a new 549m² family residence uses an articulated envelope, a curved glass-block screen and a vertical sequence of light-filled spaces to negotiate privacy, daylight and the relationship between domestic life and the garden.

 

The Lens in Montreal by MU Architecture is a new family residence in the Villeray neighbourhood, designed for a couple and their children on a site previously occupied by another single-family house. Its replacement allowed the architects to reconsider the building’s position, orientation and internal organization from the outset, while responding to an urban plot bordered by a street to the south and alleys to the east and north.

The design draws on Japanese minimalism and principles of feng shui, translated less through stylistic references than through controlled circulation, filtered daylight and a gradual transition between more public and private areas. A mature white spruce at the corner of the property was retained and incorporated into the overall composition.

 

Privacy and natural light

The site offered abundant southern light but limited opportunities to withdraw from surrounding views.

MU Architecture responds with a composition of predominantly opaque volumes, interrupted by carefully positioned openings and intermediate spaces. Rather than opening the house indiscriminately towards the street, the envelope controls visibility while allowing daylight to penetrate the interior.

The defining element of the south façade is a curved wall of glass blocks. The translucent surface admits and diffuses light without providing direct views into the residence, establishing an intermediate condition between transparency and enclosure.

Its effect changes over the course of the day. From inside, daylight is softened before reaching the living spaces; from the street, the interior becomes a blurred luminous presence. At night, artificial light reverses the relationship, giving the corner of the house the appearance of a discreet lantern.

 

A layered domestic programme

The house is organized vertically, beginning with a sunken garage accessed by a sloping driveway.

Moving vehicle access below ground frees the main level for domestic use and creates a clear distinction between service functions and the principal living spaces. The basement is treated as more than a technical level: a generous mudroom connects the garage with the main staircase, while two guest suites provide an independent area for visitors.

A flexible room with its own access from the driveway can operate as a home office or meeting space, allowing professional use without bringing visitors through the private areas of the residence.

The ground floor forms the centre of family life. Kitchen, back kitchen, dining room and living room are organized as a continuous sequence, with the living area extending into a double-height volume. A children’s playroom and powder room complete the programme.

Towards the rear, the shared spaces open onto a covered veranda and garden, establishing a direct connection between daily domestic activities and the exterior.

 

Private spaces and vertical connections

The upper floor contains the more private functions.

Two children’s bedrooms share a bathroom, while a separate laundry room supports the family programme. The primary suite opens onto a private terrace above the veranda, retaining a direct relationship with the garden while remaining separated from the communal outdoor spaces below.

A large office occupies a mezzanine overlooking the double-height living room. This position connects work with the central domestic volume without enclosing it within a conventional room.

A second staircase continues upwards to a rooftop lounge and terrace, adding another external space within the dense urban setting.

 

Glass blocks as an environmental filter

The curved glass-block wall becomes the project’s most recognizable architectural element, but its role is primarily environmental and spatial.

Its translucent surface provides privacy from the street and neighbouring properties while capturing southern light. The constantly changing degree of brightness gives depth to the front of the house and creates a softer boundary than either a conventional solid wall or clear glazing.

The reference to Japanese shoji screens is expressed through this filtered condition: light is admitted without the exterior becoming fully visible.

Alongside it, beige concrete brick volumes alternate between sharper and rounded corners, producing a more solid outer layer that mediates between the residence and the surrounding urban fabric.

 

An interior organized by material and light

The interior uses a limited palette of walnut, oak, porcelain and brushed brass.

In the kitchen and dining area, a monolithic suspended hood defines the island, while a sequence of fluted timber pendant lights introduces a more detailed scale above the dining area. The glass-block wall remains visible from within, distributing diffuse daylight across the timber floor.

A floating white steel staircase with glass balustrades links the principal levels around a vertical void. The opening allows natural light to travel through the section of the house and maintains visual relationships between floors.

The bathrooms continue the restrained palette with beige porcelain and brushed brass fittings, while the primary suite incorporates both a walk-in shower and a steam shower.

 

Extending the house into the garden

At the rear, the architecture opens substantially towards the landscape.

The garden by Atelier Friche is characterized by grasses and perennial planting, with a dark-bottomed swimming pool reflecting the changing sky. A covered terrace equipped with an outdoor kitchen extends the main living areas outside, while a green roof continues above it.

The contrast between the more protected street façade and the open garden elevation establishes the main spatial logic of the house: enclosure and filtered light towards the city, greater transparency towards the private landscape.

The Lens consequently uses its envelope not simply to define an architectural image, but to regulate privacy, daylight and movement. Through the glass-block screen, the vertical void and the successive connections to terraces and garden, the residence organizes family life around varying degrees of openness rather than a simple division between inside and outside.