From fluid promenade to pragmatic functionality, the project involves the rehabilitation of a Montreal cottage orchestrating a sculptural experience with an architectural dimension. Interfering in the daily life of a couple of young professionals, a system, both simple and complex, multiplies geometric interweavings and visual breakthroughs to reveal a home in the image of its owners.

Focusing as much on compactness as on organizational interrelationships, the development of the architectural system requires its users to scrutinize their habits, and question the needs related to their daily life. In this process of collaborative creation, the owners adopt the playful approach of the architects with enthusiasm, humor, and sensitivity in order to specify the character identity of the project.

Playing with positive and negative spaces, the proposal articulates a crystallization fragmenting the volumetric entity by a physical and visual permeability, altering the perceptions of dimensioning. Opting for the subtraction of floor areas in favor of spatial qualities, volumes and interstices compose a domestic ecosystem of rows and vis-à-vis. Livened up by the constant variability of color shades, enlivened by the seasons and the natural light coming from the garden adjoining the living space, the MB project manifests the expression of these external parameters on its unifying monomateriality. Associated with its urban context and the flow of dynamic interactions generated by its internal conditions, including the movements of users and their way of living, a rhythmic versatility stands out in contrast to the geometric rigor of the assemblage.

Beyond the amalgamation of domestic functions, MB proposes an intervention multiplying interrelationships to enhance the movement through a parcours revealing its spatial polysemy. From archetype to abstraction, space is transformed. From an organizational matrix to a discovery game, MB presents a place participating in the active life of its neighborhood, while generating an enveloping family haunt.

The post Cottage Redesign in Montreal was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The inspiration behind this project in Morelia, Mexico, is derived from carefully listening to the subtle murmurs and whispers of environments like this, as well as the client’s search for protection and shelter. At the same time, this project generates a continuity in the beautiful living surface around the land, forming a new hill in a place already surrounded by many.

Four concrete walls surprisingly emerge from the landscape; two of them bearing the land of the new hill created, and two others framing the access as they escort guests into the house.

The path leads to an old tree. After crossing this threshold, going down a few solid stone steps, and opening a heavy steel door, a concrete vault stands, supporting the loads of the green bed sheet that rests upon it; providing a sensation of being inside a cold, dark, but strangely cozy cave.

The flooring emphasizes an aroma of wood that is perceived when surrounded by pine trees, providing balance to the cold temperature of the concrete; and finally, steel that, with time and rainfall, acquires an appearance like tree bark.

As for the spatial organization, public areas on the left side of the house are completely exposed to the wooded ravine, and on the right side are open more timidly to a courtyard with treetop and sky views.

The refrigerator and appliances are hidden, the lighting is arranged very discreetly, and only the four main materials were included: stone, wood, concrete, and steel. It was very important for the client to preserve the rough and primitive atmosphere of being in the mountains.

HW Estudio Arquitectos

Cesar Bejar

The post The Hill in Front of the Glen was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

In this detached duplex of the Rosemont district in Montreal, the owners wanted to transform the ground floor and the semi-basement to make it their home. The second floor was preserved for their tenant. A garden was also to be laid out all around the building as well as a terrace in the back, connected to the living area.

The architects first sought to reorganize the partitions to obtain fluid circulations and spaces that are well-proportioned, clean, and uncluttered.

Several new openings have been made in the exterior walls to illuminate the space at any time of the day. They also opened the floor to create a large double-height space for the new staircase, thus reinforcing an impression of continuity between the two levels. A large piece of satin glass between the office and the stair allows these spaces to benefit from the light coming from the neighboring space while ensuring privacy.

The lighting has also been thought of from a functional point of view but also for the ambiance it can create and also for the beauty of the object itself in space.

For this project, the architects have designed several elements of integrated furniture that meet the needs of the clients in their daily activities. The built-in furniture also acts as a partition and defines the space.

Great care is taken in detail and in the choice of materials. In this project, white oak, polished concrete, and white or anthracite lacquered panels are the main materials used.

Continuity of materials throughout the house also contributes to an impression of fluidity between the spaces. The woodblock, made with white oak panels, which borders the corridor on the ground floor, turns into the living room and becomes a service cabinet for the dining table. Likewise, the white lacquered panels of the built-in kitchen furniture become the covering material of the staircase walls and descend to the basement.

Other materials are added to the palette of the project, such as the brass lighting fixtures or the Bianco Carrara marble mosaic that covers the surfaces of the bathroom on the ground floor.

Polished concrete is also found in several places in the project. It is used as a slab poured on-site but also as elements cast and polished in the workshop to make wall panels as well as steps and stair landings.

In the basement bathroom, these polished concrete wall panels are also used, as if the floor were rising on the walls. The bathroom is visually split in two: the concrete dry area with its white oak vanity, and the wet area covered with small white ceramic tiles.

Paul Bernier Architecte

The post 10th Avenue was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

In 2017, the townhouse owners contacted Montreal architect Guillaume Lévesque for a unique renovation project. They wanted to transform an old 1880s duplex into a multi-unit and harmonize the original style of the building with a decidedly contemporary and uncluttered addition.

Restoring a 19th-century house while retaining the heritage and creating a contemporary addition is quite a challenge. The Ville-Marie borough required that the existing building be preserved and restored. A challenge that the team of architects, accompanied by tinsmith craftsmen, cabinet makers, and masons, has successfully taken up.

The original 60m2 building has been fully restored and converted into two apartments: a two-floor 4 ½ and a 3 ½ on the second floor.

Both apartments have an open plan with abundant fenestration with large 3.65m high side windows carved into the brick wall. The attic has been completely covered with new slate tiles. The dormers and woodworking have been completely rebuilt.

 A 180m2 contemporary addition on three levels was also built at the back of the building. The basement includes a double garage with concealed door and storage rooms. The living room on the ground floor opens through large sliding doors onto a 4m x 12m outdoor terrace. It covers the driveway to the garage in the basement and offers a magnificent space for a dining room and sunny outdoor living room. The second floor contains the master bedroom, two bathrooms, and a living room which can also be a guest bedroom.

The addition includes large openings providing all interior spaces with a considerable amount of natural light. A sober facing of black metal panels covers the contemporary addition and gives the whole a neat finish.

Guillaume Lévesque

The post Alexandre-de-Sève Town House was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The cabin is located in Senja, at 69° north in Norway, surrounded by majestic mountains, magical fjords with thriving fishing villages, holding on to narrow bits of land between mountains and ocean. The National Tourist Route leads on to a 10-mile long journey along one of the finest landscapes, with spectacular points of view and several exciting detours.

The cabin, designed by Bjørnådal Arkitektstudio, is located near a small fishing village called Hamn. The client wanted a family cottage with panoramic views of Senja’s stunning mountains and nature. In such a beautiful and delicate setting, it is important to build with nature and create a project that feels like a part of the landscape.

By studying old Sami building traditions, the architects found the ancient tradition of “Heller”, where Sami would find shelter and build a cottage under large rocks. By shaping the building envelope like a stone with natural lines resembling the mountains, one could make a large panorama window in this shape. The project then becomes a “rock with a view” that settles naturally in the terrain – hidden by the forest from neighbors and the main road. Still, on the inside of the cabin, one feels like being part of nature.

The cabin has a wooden facade painted in dark grey to naturally blend in with the surrounding nature. The windows are made of wood/aluminum with details in steel to protect from the harsh winter storms. The main entrance is carved into the building mass and creates a sheltered space to relax.

Inside the cabin, the walls are covered with pine boards, oak floors, and a 45×45 wooden slatted ceiling. This creates a warm and cozy atmosphere to relax by the fireplace.

At the dinner table, one gathers the family with a panoramic view of the mountains. The lines between inside and outside have been blurred and the space changes in tune with the light and landscape.

« Architecture is about facilitating life that will take place inside the built, and that this life thrives and grows in symbiosis with our world. Architecture is not just the shell that keeps you dry and shields you from the forces of nature. It will also help to recreate the connection between man and nature, man and the cosmos.» says Hans-Petter Bjørnådal.

Bjørnådal Arkitektstudio AS

The post Senja Cabin was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

In the historic center of a well-preserved village, opposite the church, a wine barn and its adjoining house were to be restructured in order to create an intimate and special living environment.

Features of heritage and prestige remained in the existing house: the stone staircase, the cement tiles, and the wooden roof framing, while the barn’s large volume and minimalist forms have turned into an open-plan and fluid living space, opening right up to the exterior through a square patio at the rear.

The existing house space is given over to the bedrooms, whereas the old wine barn welcomes the everyday family life activities. The archetypal barn form, all in one long structure, successively provides the kitchen, living room, and large table leading out onto the patio and the swimming pool. The position of the pool, adjoining the building, creates various atmospheres for each moment of life, allowing to experience the seasonal rhythms throughout the natural vibrations of air and matter.

On the outside, part of the roof of the original barn was removed to design the open-air patio. The composition of this space – within four walls – echoes the Mediterranean lifestyle. Furthermore, the choice was made to keep one of the gable stone walls of the barn, a vestige of the past, to ensure the thermal efficiency of the building. The limestone retains the right humidity level throughout the night, especially in summer, keeping the place cool and pleasant to use.

The patio also features half of the lap pool. The “half-pool half-patio” pattern gives this water slice its fundamental posture: it is the pivot of the overall outdoor composition and connects it with the indoors.

The three dimensions of architecture, history, and technicity are in dialogue and this project writes a “tailor-made” narrative in each and every detail, giving the place its own unique spirit.

(ma!ca) architecture

Julien Kerdraon

The post House in a City Center was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

In the house, space is used but has yet to be lived in. The family, who has recently moved in, is settling in, capturing sensations and sequences which will soon become the pillars of the upcoming project.

The owners wanted to renovate and adapt this house in Courdimanche, France, to their way of life, a more comfortable one, and above all, in accordance with their tastes. This project gave us time to think about spaces in a new light, with new use, especially for children.

The main asset of the house was its light, and the double-height volume in the living room, unexploited until then. As a result, a mezzanine net came to life in this space, allowing the outdoor light to come through, yet offering another way to take over this area.

The white floor on the ground floor, beyond its high reflective potential, brings out all the elements that are put down on it. The flooring shade also highlights an inversion of sensations with the shuttered concrete ceiling. This change upsets the habits to reinforce the notion of the void at the center of the net.

The integrated furnishings, mostly oak with some black spots, bring warm fragments to the place, structuring the clear and infinite space. The goal was to reorganize these living spaces developed upon two floors, in order to create a general coherence in the project, while at the same time creating distinct areas dedicated to a specific use.

The central area links both levels as a backbone. It is a huge sculpted wooden volume, in which several functions and usages are articulated: it is, on the one hand, the stairs that lead to the other floors but also access the basement, the toilets, the bar, the library, the storage for vinyl records, and the television unit. The whole is materialized with games of solids and voids, punctuated by numerous spaces hidden by door curtains or small trap doors.

In parallel, a piece of furniture going through the front entrance of the house welcomes us, inviting us to sit down and take our shoes off before coming in. This piece goes up to the living room wall, facing the central block. This pathway made of wood throughout conceals numerous Hi-Fi storage units.

In front of it, a line develops along the wall, on each side of the stove, with on one side a bench seat with integrated storage for parents, welcoming relaxation, and on the other, toys storage for children to play with. The whole is topped by large shelves, as a ribbon unrolling on the wall, sheltering books, and subdued lighting.

The mezzanine net becomes, depending on the time of day, a space for children to play, a place to relax in family, or a movie room.

Bordering the net, along the wall, a wooden strip inhabits the residual space under the sloping roof, offering a number of storages, and integrating a video projector and home cinema, concealed behind sliding doors once the showing is over. This strip continues on the next wall with a different shape, where the structure of the net is wrapped by wood and allows for a sequence of tiny trap doors, with some more storage spaces.

Like a theatrical production, the light falls onto the walls and the furniture, as such creating a warm atmosphere throughout the day, making these spaces pleasant and soothing. The result is a true call for relaxation in this area, where everybody finds their own space without cluttering the available space.

Martins | Afonso atelier de design

Mickaël Martins Afonso

The post Around the Net was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

A small vacant lot located at the epicenter of Montreal student life, just north of the McGill University’s Milton gates, was the basis of the latest design by KANVA. The site endured a fire in the early 20th century, which flattened the existing 19th century historic stone house; this tragedy represents only one of many narrative layers embedded in the land. The historical context of the site became the primary inspiration for the urban renewal project, which lead to the exploration of an innovative concrete fabrication technique: Photoengraved concrete panels that enabled the building to tell a story. The project encapsulates an architecture ‘parlante’; an architecture that heightens the intellectual and perceptual experience of its inhabitants by stimulating active looking. The film sequence photoengraved into the concrete façade is extracted from the sequence of stills from the film: Montreal Fire Department on Runners (Edison, 1901). The film was carefully chosen for both its historical and contextual relevance: referencing the fire that vacated the site and highlighting the prolific inventor Thomas Edison, an important contributor to the development of ‘tableaux mouvants’ and motion pictures.

Materiality constraints arose from the outset of the project due to the fact that the site is positioned in a Montreal heritage zone; the palette was limited to masonry. The design team approached this predicament as more of an opportunity to challenge conventions and to test the limits of concrete. The process of photoengraving concrete was selected for its sensitive properties; it does not overwhelm the viewer but rather invites the user to re-imagine a story, as they move past or through the building and the film stills progressively move in and out of focus. The refined technique of photoengraving is an intricate tool facilitating a playful and adaptable narrative, on an otherwise brutal and barren material.

Specifically, the process of photoengraving translates an image into a positive/negative representation, which is then converted into a series of vertical striations that form the image. Playing on light and shadow, each film still, and by extension, the sequence in the photoengraving technique is perceived in an ever changing, dynamic manner as the sun’s oblique angles accentuate or the clouds soften the visual perception of the vertical ribs that form the image. The panes of glass on the front facade are also screen-printed with complementary images, helping to achieve the desired sequential effect. As students occupy or visitors pass by the site, their proximity and angle relative to the façade, in addition to the speed at which move, transform the way the sequence is viewed.

The choice of program for the building, a student residence, came naturally due to the proximity of the University campus. The two defining public and private volumes host internally their respective private and public functions. The intimate residence houses thirty (30) individual rooms, communal living spaces such as kitchen, lounge, living room etc. Each student room is designed as an optimal module, outfitted with floor to ceiling built-in storage that frames the bed along one wall, and allocates an alcove opposite to slide in a desk. All private rooms give onto the quiet communal garden, which wraps the entire footprint of the building, providing both recreation and security for the users. The side façade and garden abides by the same conceptual cinematic strategies; the yellow markers are a graphic way of marking individual living modules. The primary entrance is through a porte-cochère, a contemporary tribute to Montreal’s traditional method of building a protected passage for horse carriages, which offers an intimate approach to the building. The common spaces are positioned within the public domain of the building giving onto busy University Street and are designed to optimize flexibility and incite appropriation by the student residents.

Edison Residence creates an animated architecture by using new technology in a socially engaging way. It calls for participation and reflection by the viewer as he or she contemplates the transformation and evolution of the site, and by extension the City. Most importantly, the Edison residence will be an inspiring living space for a student as they broaden their horizons.

KANVA

The post Edison Residence was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Located in a flood zone along the shore of Lake Saint-Louis, in the outskirts of Montreal, the Langlois-Lessard Residence is a direct response to the questions raised by the site. Those include the integration of architecture into an exceptional natural environment and the definition of the house’s spatiality, volume and fabric in relation to the site itself.

To preserve the pristine beauty of the site and its many mature trees, the architects prescribed a compact footprint, keeping the pool attached to the house behind a low horizontal wall of natural stone, that provides privacy. Only seven percent of the site is built. Oriented towards impressive views and sunsets, the residence is situated near the water, creating the impression from within that the interior spaces are extending into the lake.

Both the exceptional quality of the landscape and the orientation of the site guided the general planning of living spaces on both floors. As the project evolved, specific architectural elements defined the spatial identity of the house. An open fireplace is situated on the axis of the main entrance, at the heart of the volume, while service blocks detached from the exterior walls flank its sides, creating subtle sculptural volumes. Both floors are characterized by remarkable spatial openness, yet they are connected through a very narrow, minimalist staircase. Given the water’s proximity and the elusive nature of the horizon beyond, the ground floor was kept under a low ceiling without any double heights, in order to reinforce the view towards the horizon. Inversely, on the second floor, the bedrooms enjoy interesting angular ceilings that generate a play of light and shadow.

The volumetric design of the house relies on two principles: Providing the owners with privacy and reacting to the strong western winds. The relatively opaque stone base ensures intimacy by stretching along the pool and establishing an artificial horizon, upon which the upper volume lies. The latter is displaced to form a covered terrace on the pool side, protected from the sun. The roof is shifted and angled in response to the surrounding natural environment.

The selection of natural textures comes as a response to the landscape and to the architectural character of the nearby town of Léry. Coarsely shaped natural limestone, textured concrete and wood siding integrate the house with the natural tones of the site, which is characterized by the barks of the trees, the neighboring houses’ wood siding, stone walls and other retaining walls on the waterfront, constructed of concrete block. Inside, the polished concrete floor and concrete fireplace dominate the material palette while the furniture softens and adds to the tone on tone effect. The neutral palette allows the surrounding landscape and its shifting seasonal expressions to dominate the interior.

Chevalier Morales Architects

The post Langlois-Lessard Residence was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.