Naturehumaine’s office is moving into a century-old building on the corner of Gilford Street, in the square left by Mr. Jiji, the emblematic shoemaker of the neighbourhood who retired. The project aims to restore the building’s heritage features and preserve the soul of a local business while giving it a contemporary touch.

The atelier is set up on 2 levels; on the ground floor is the main work area and the meeting room. The basement becomes a kitchen, dining room, material library and archive area.
The major intervention was to renovate the former inner courtyard on the lateral side, in order to install the main entrance of the office. This new space serves as a transition threshold before entering the work-space. The entrance is largely glazed and also incorporates a few shelves used to display architectural models. At the back, the meeting room is concealed by a striated glass panel, creating a play of light and movement while preserving the privacy of its occupants.

At the corner street, the south-facing window provides the opportunity to install a large glass floor supported on the existing beams, allowing light to pass through to the basement. It reveals a new intimate space, enveloped by the rough texture of the rubble foundation and exposed ceiling joists.
The structure of the building is characterized by two columns that retain their original blue chosen by the previous occupant of the building, le bleu de baltes.
Orchestrating the space organization, these columns lead to the longitudinal arrangement of the offices. A screen of wood and felt blades between the work tables was designed to improve the sound quality of the space.

All the custom-made furniture offered an opportunity for research and experimentation.
The materials used constitute a simple and minimalist palette compiling the favourite materials of naturehumaine’s achievements; wood, mosaic, concrete floors, textured glass and steel. The aim is to create a work atmosphere propitious to concentration and creativity.

The project is located on a steep lot on the shores of Lake Memphremagog, not far from the St-Benoit-du-Lac monks’ abbey.

The owners wish to create on this large wooded lot, a home that reflects their lifestyle: dynamic, welcoming and friendly. They see their house as a contemporary and warm place for gatherings with friends.

Access to the property is through an entryway overlooking the house and offering a peek onto the lake further down below. This bird’s eye view demonstrates the visual importance to the geometry of the roof most perceived from the approach.

The chalet is composed of three volumes topped by sculptural roofs with diagonal ridge. At each high point of the ridge, a polygonal skylight culminates as a result of the roof geometry. These east-facing skylights provide natural light to the living spaces, workshop and master bathroom all facing the lake to the west.

The house is inspired by the architectural principles applied to churches; large volumes with vertical proportions lit by zenithal light. The expansion of the St-Benoît Abbey designed by Dan Hanganu, was a source of inspiration both for the attention to details and mostly in regard of the treatment of natural light in the double-height volumes.

Monochromatic, the envelope of the three volumes of the main floor is made of pre-aged wood cladding topped with a stainless steel roof; a raw and durable material to which the patina of time will give a matte and uniform appearance to all the elements, thus harmonizing the whole.

From the lake, the corten steel base, with its tones of rust and brown, blends into the roughness of the hemlock trees, giving the impression that the house is suspended in the forest.

On the main floor of the house, the volumes with cathedral roofs shelter 3 functional groupings. The first volume houses the living spaces, the second houses the workshop and the parking lot, and the last contains the night spaces. At the heart of the living space is the central three-sided steel-clad foyer, which faces the kitchen, dining room and living room. Monumental, it is suspended from the structure and derives its angular geometry from the diagonals formed by the roof slopes.

At the meeting point of the three volumes is the functional core coupled with the staircase leading to the lower level, partly embedded in the slope of the site. Partially recessed in the slope, this one hosts in a row the guest rooms, all positioned so as to benefit from a direct view and access to the lake a few meters lower. Each room has a large panoramic window overlooking the lake, as well as a direct entrance from the terrace along the base. Opaque, the access doors are hidden in the regular rhythm of the corten steel panels. This wall also makes it possible to discreetly integrate the bathroom windows behind perforated steel panels.

The materiality of the envelope finds an echo in the interior design choices of the house, where a palette of timeless materials is mixed; concrete floors, ceilings adorned with wood, as well as in the integrated furniture elements made of wood and raw or stainless steel.

Beyond the choice of noble materials guided by the project’s desire for durability, the house integrates numerous elements aimed at optimizing energy consumption such as a geothermal underfloor heating system, insulation that exceeds code requirements, charging stations for electric vehicles and a choice of energy-efficient lighting systems.

Thus, the variations and angular geometry make each space in the house unique, each viewpoint dynamic, while blurring the perception of its scale.

La Doyenne is a renovation and the expansion project of a Victorian house built in 1887, a few steps away from Square Saint-Louis in Montreal. In a high-density built environment characteristic of the Plateau Mont Royal, the main challenge to meet the desire of its new occupants was to design an extension in the back yard preserving their privacy from the side and rear buildings.

The project’s singularity comes from the integration of multiple floor level variations. One enters the house through the living room, located half a level above the street, to reach the backyard, slightly recessed into the garden. This intervention aims to create a height offset in relation to the level of the neighboring terraces while reinforcing the verticality of the interior volumes. The proportions of the dining room and kitchen are then perceived as double height spaces.

The exterior envelope of the house integrates several devices aimed at preserving the privacy of its occupants while allowing light to enter; the steel blades in front of the bedroom window as well as solid steel panels on the side windows reduce lateral views. Lastly, the skylights and stairwells let zenithal light into the heart of the house.

Inside, the majestic staircase at the entrance to the house is preserved and restored. It remains the centerpiece of the house while creating a relationship with the new elements. Two staircases are added; the first one connects the living room to the dining room. The second, an helicoidal staircase leads to the roof terrace. Both are united by their imperial green tone inspired by the history of the building.

The palette of the project is composed of both noble materials such as the oak floors and wooden furniture characteristic of old bourgeois homes, and raw materials like the stainless-steel countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms.

In this way, the Doyenne capitalizes on the density of its surroundings to unveil a project that is intimately integrated into its environment. Spread over 4 levels, its interior spatiality is a continuous space accentuating the interaction between the parts of the house.

The concept of this chalet results from the rugged topography of its site, a sloping terrain on which the project is anchored in the bedrock, revealing an angular and monolithic architecture.

Its shape and its most minimalist expression allows for optimal compactness and a reduced footprint on its site. Its square plan is topped by a symmetrical gabled roof that reinforces its geometric appearance.

Inside, the space reveals a height under exposed joists that gives a sense of verticality to this contained space. Visible from the living spaces, the criss-crossing structure of the roof echoes the name of the lake by recalling the skeleton of a fish, as does its immaculate colour.

The modest budget leads to the optimization of the chalet’s spaces: reduction of circulation areas, creation of compact spaces, grouping of services and framing of views towards the landscape. It also aims to compose with a palette of simple and affordable materials. For example, maple veneer panels make up the integrated storage units.

The result is an unusual, simple and monochrome architecture exploring the purity of the square.

The project consists of the expansion and complete renovation of a single-family house located in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, to welcome a happy and unexpected arrival of a third child into the family, named Victoria.

The design concept is defined by the transformation of the house by integrating three structural architectural elements. First, the addition of Victoria’s bedroom on the back facade forms a cantilevered box attached to the facade, secondly by creating a new balcony on the front facade and finally, in the heart of the house, a new staircase articulates and organizes the functions of the house. These three elements are distinguished by the use of a unique colour, in a sage green shade, which, depending on the light intensity and the changing exposure during the day, presents a wide variation in contrasts and shades.

In the heart of the house, this touch of colour on the stairs attracts the attention and becomes a playful and geometric element. The monochrome staircase is designed as a lightweight structural work, composed of steel blades and painted cabinetry panels.

It defines the playground area in double height by extending the colour applied to the floor. Also, this central space is surmounted by a large skylight that brings light to the heart of the house as well as to all the surrounding service rooms, particularly the bathrooms, which are equipped with large glass imposts.

In the children’s bathroom, a bright yellow tone reinforces the playful function of this space, which is also seen as a space for play, learning and well-being dedicated to children.

Around this, the palette of materials is deliberately sober and raw in order to contrast with the monochrome and smooth aspect of sage green. Thus, the fibrocement panels of the exterior façade are preserved naturally and extend into the dining-room. The galvanized steel of balconies and concrete foundations are expressed in their raw aesthetics. The ancestral wood structure of the interior wall ” piece on piece ” is exposed and painted white in the double height space, while the structural beams of the living room are left exposed and stained in the same shade as the wooden floor.

The result of this transformation is a house that expresses both a singularity through its strong and omnipresent colour while revealing an intervention that keeps a large part to the expression of a simple and minimalist materiality.

Winner Grand Prix du design 13th edition – Residential space from 1,600 sq. ft. to 3,200 sq. ft.

The transformation of this duplex located in the borough of Plateau Mont-Royal into a single-family home, is defined by the creation of a central core around which the spatial organization is defined to allow natural light into the heart of the house.

Upon entry into Residence Olivier_ Nelson, the perspective opens onto a central wooden core wrapping a staircase painted in immaculate white. This stairwell bathed in natural light defines the overall circulation of the house and its spaces. On the second floor, the staircase creates a buffer zone between the office that serves as a guest room and the master bedroom. Each of these spaces communicates with a bathroom that benefits from indirect natural lighting.

The shower adjacent to the guest room is immersed in a diffused light coming through a translucent glass wall contiguous to the stairwell. As for the main bathroom, a sense of intimacy is created using a gray ceramic tile juxtaposed to a warm terracotta brick. Nestled behind the original freestanding bath, is a terracotta-rounded shower that benefits from an indirect light coming through the main bedroom.

The materiality of the project is characterized by a minimalist approach playing with tones of white, gray and black, all gilded by a textured gray ceramic and a terracotta tile. A concrete floor covers the ground floor while white ash flooring is applied on the level above.

The rear façade reinterprets the effect of depth enhanced by the balconies and the roof projections of vernacular constructions. By a play of folding planes, the facade dressed in fibrocement boards unfolds from the rooftop to the ceiling of the dining room. A generous glass wall punctuates the composition of this facade by offering natural light to the main bedroom while framing a view onto a majestic maple in the yard.

Winner Grand Prix du design 13th edition – Bathroom category

Located in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, the transformation and expansion of this duplex into a single family home is defined by the geometrical dialogue of two complementary volumes highlighted by a set of angles and contrasting tonalities.

At the rear, the addition of a mezzanine allowing access to the roof terrace is read as an extension of the facade, stretching over three levels. On the first floor, a second volume extends the footprint of the building, contributing to the formal expression as a whole. The volumetric composition is guided by the desire to create a dynamic expression between these two angular entities. In each volume, two large folded panes of glass provide a visual connection with the garden below.

Inside, monochrome spaces with subdued materials surround the staircase located at the heart of the household topped by a generous skylight. The central staircase made of openwork railings diffuses a zenithal light through the interior of the house.

From the ground floor to the mezzanine, the staircase runs on three levels all the way to the family room giving access to the roof terrace. The interplay of volumes defines a close relationship between the living space and the roof terrace, which creates a space to contemplate the urban landscape.

The project consists of the transformation of a Montreal duplex into a single-family house. The architectural concept is build around a new staircase that joins the existing building to the courtyard extension.

Monochrome, the new courtyard façade with its abundant windows, is framed by two bricks pilasters, which enhance the relationship to the garden by continuing into the interior space. The conceptual transition between the old and the new is expressed by the materiality of the new staircase. The maple plywood used with white painted perforated steel contrasts with the original wood mouldings of the building.

The new living area is characterized by a sequence of spaces, which revolve around the double height dining room. The degree of intimacy is modulated according to the usage. On the ground floor, a bench becomes a contemplative space extending the interior. Upstairs, the yoga room, which is largely open towards the garden, is flooded with natural light. In the master bedroom, a steel blades screen filters the views over the neighbourhood.

The communicating spaces, with their thresholds, characterise the new rooms of the house. Intimate or more open, they allow a variety of experiences and possibilities for the occupants.

Perched on a mountain in the Eastern Townships, the Crowhill cabin is based on its timelessness and minimalism concept. By its angular shape, the project aims to underline the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

The project takes advantage of the rocky cape to anchor its raw concrete foundations, on which rest two volumes advancing towards the treetops.

The first module contains the living areas while the second has two bedrooms. By accompanying the natural slope of the ground, their sloping roofs reinforce the sensation of sliding over the cliff. The entrance forms an in-between space between the modules that are oriented differently from each other’s.

The overhanging roofs on the south facade emphasize the view while limiting solar gain during the hot season. On the side, a wooden platform located in continuation of the kitchen is oriented west towards the sunset. The burnt wood use on the facades and the pre-woven hemlock planks result in a natural palette for the exterior envelope.

Inside, the panoramic view becomes the focal point of the living spaces and of the master bedroom. On the floor, the ceramic with a concrete finish unites all the spaces and reminds the natural finish of the foundations.

While enhancing the landscape, the project above all considers the cabin as a minimal and contemplative space, inviting tranquility.

Finalist for the OAQ 2019 Awards of Excellence