Hasta La Ideas

Canadian studio Naturehumaine inserted a glass floor and skylight to draw sunlight through the interior of this two-storey house in Montreal, and reintroduced wooden boards to make a feature of the staircase.

Naturehumaine renovated and extended the narrow house on 8th Avenue, Rosemount, for a family of four. An extra family room was added on the ground floor with a new master bedroom above, while the rear facade was replaced with a patterned surface of bright yellow and green panels.

The glass floor provides a visual connection between the ground-floor dining room and a hallway above. A skylight of the same size sits directly above – a feature that architect Stéphane Rasselet says the studio often adds to the centre of houses.

“In this case the clients needs didn’t allow us to give up the valuable floor area that would be lost with a double-height space, so we added the glass floor below the skylight,” he told Dezeen.

The architects retained original structural beams and boards, using them to create a wooden wall flanking the staircase. They also inserted a few into the ceiling void below the skylight.

“Back when this building was built, structural walls were built out of interlocking pieces of solid wood, similar to a log cabin, but with flat faces,” said Rasselet. “We like to expose these walls like you would expose an existing brick wall.

“We find our clients like the warmth of the wood, as well as exposing the history of their house, which contrasts with the new contemporary elements,” he added.

The existing interior was completely reorganised. The ground floor entrance leads in through a living room to the kitchen and dining area at the centre of the plan, while the new room at the rear opens out to the terrace and garden.

Upstairs, a pair of bedrooms overlook the street in front of the property, while the master bedroom occupies the rear behind the bathroom.

Walls of black bricks extend through the facade, forming both interior and exterior surfaces, while floors feature a mixture of white-painted wooden boards and dark slate tiles.

Photography by Adrien Williams.

Here’s a project description from Naturehumaine:

8th Ave.

This intervention transformed a residential two storey duplex in Rosemount into a single dwelling unit by completely reorganising the interior and constructing a 430 sqft extension in the rear.

The extension includes a master bedroom on the second floor and a family room that gives onto an intimate garden at ground level. Standing proud on a typical Montreal laneway, the extension acts as a beacon of novelty and dynamism. While little work was done to the front facade, this extension was designed in contrast, with bright colours, an angled form, and generous glazing.

Work on the interior centred on exposing and highlighting the beauty of existing wooden structural walls and beams and supporting them with a more subtle pallet of materials. Natural daylight is brought into the core with a large skylight and glass floor placed at the centre of the house.

Type: Single family house
Intervention: Interior re-organisation and extension
Location: 8th Ave. Montreal, Canada
Area: 1630 sqft

The post Montreal house by Naturehumaine features
a glass floor with a skylight overhead appeared first on Dezeen.

A white spectacles showroom contrasts with black examination areas at this opticians near Montreal by Canadian studio La SHED Architecture (+ slideshow).

To create a distinction between the commercial and medical areas of L’Aire Visuelle eye clinic, La SHED Architecture installed a white element that runs through the 284-square-metre space in Laval, northwest of Montreal.

In the shop, wooden slats are randomly interspersed with strip lighting above glass display counters and linear tiles are laid in the same direction on the ground.

“The commercial space was designed as an atelier-boutique, characterised by low display tables in the open area, avoiding any visual obstruction,” said the architects.

These ceiling and floor materials continue beyond a wooden reception desk into the treatment and storage spaces behind.

In contrast, circulation spaces situated either side of the feature element have black carpets and surfaces.

These lead to dark examination rooms on one side and the staff room on the other. The waiting area is also situated on the black carpet, next to the entrance and beside the display units.

Retail consultation spaces sit inside a wooden cube, which also displays frames in the side facing the store.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

L’Aire Visuelle

Working from high contrast and simple natural materials, the firm la SHED architecture have designed a unique optometrist and optician clinic redefining the customer’s experience. The commercial space was designed as an atelier-boutique, characterised by low display tables in the open area, avoiding any visual obstruction. Looking for frames becomes the opportunity of a friendly exchange, underneath the bright ceiling, composed of wooden slats installed randomly.

With the goal of giving their enterprise a breath of fresh air, the associates of L’Aire Visuelle sought to create a new corporate image based on the state-of-the-art products and techniques that they offer, as well as the quality and expertise of the services they provide. The first objective was to redefine customer experience in the clinic. Their previous office became too narrow over time as a result of company expansion; the client therefore required an organized, spacious and open space where emphasis was placed on the sales area and their selection of eyeglass frames.

Creating a hierarchy of movements between patients and employees was an essential part of optimising displacements and creating a functional environment. The project mandate consisted of planning and developing an optometry clinic and its eyeglass store at the ground level of an existing two floor commercial building. With windows on three facades, the 3060-square-foot office accessible from a common hall had an irregular shape – a portion of which had a misaligned angle in relation to the main structural frame.

A space with double the height opening onto the second floor dental clinic offered an abundant amount of natural light. The client’s budget was limited to a maximum of $450,000 for the entirety of project work involved including mechanical work, furniture and professional fees.

The space was designed in such a way to position the sales area at the front of the building, in the section that contained the most windows and was closest to the entrance. People walking into the clinic could therefore instantly see all available products. Visible from the reception, the waiting area was placed beneath the office’s area of double height and is apart from the consultation rooms while being open to the sales area.

The two main axis of circulation are on either side of the reception area – one being meant for clients heading for consultation and examination rooms, and the other for clinic personnel heading to the employee common room, apart from the client zone. The design hierarchy was therefore established, with busier areas at the front near the entrance, and areas requiring quiet and privacy located at the rear of the office.

The concept, geared towards the creation of a workshop-boutique, opted for presentation tables in order to keep the display area clear of all obstacles limiting vision or obstructing lighting. As a result, the eyeglass frame shopping area turns into a far more friendly area, where artificial light is articulated within a randomly organised ceiling of lath wood. The ceiling, by its dynamic and rhythmic design, creates an illusion of movement within the adjacent space.

In the spirit of architectural continuity, a wall of vertical lattice creates a space for attaching eyeglass frame presentation modules while enveloping the sales area. The long and narrow ceramic tile flooring is a harmonious continuation of the lath wood ceiling, therefore completing the envelopment of the sales area.

The immaculate white band that is the showroom is a start contrast to the wooden monolithic cube immediately adjacent to it, covering the private consultation areas. Behind the sales floor, a black satin volume containing the exam rooms seems to have slipped under the ceiling lath, creating an attractive backdrop to the reception area. Detached from adjacent surfaces by recessed lighting, this volume, fragmented by full height openings, seems to float gingerly between the floor and ceiling.

The highly contrasted colours provide the area with a theatrical character featuring the eyeglass showroom with its bright white presentation modules, whereas the mechanical and unaesthetic elements of the open ceiling disappear in black. A sober, neutral and classical colour palette ensures a total coherence between different elements of the clinic.

A black carpet covers the floor in circulation and consultation areas, absorbing sound and light emitted by the sales area. Fluorescent tubes randomly built into the lattice ceiling frame animate the sales area by producing bright and stimulating lighting in stark contrast to the other more private spaces. Black cylindrical tubes hidden throughout the mechanics and structure provide rich and soft lighting in the circulation, waiting and consultation areas as opposed to the abundant lighting of the showroom.

The contrast of porosity, colours and textures within the project elegantly reflect the different character of each space, and contribute to a simple and clear understanding of the planning of the office. Refined finishing details such as doors with hidden frames, and recessed plinths contribute to the clean appearance of the various spaces, underscoring the strong architectural ideas implemented to make L’Aire Visuelle a contemporary and elegant optometry clinic.

The post La SHED Architecture separates eye clinic
into light and dark zones appeared first on Dezeen.

Exposed brick walls and a large bookshelf are on show through the glazed facade of this ground-floor apartment in Montreal by Canadian designer Anne Sophie Goneau (+ slideshow).

Anne Sophie Goneau began the renovation by stripping the apartment back to its structure, revealing raw brick walls and steel I-beams, then designed an open-plan layout with a bedroom on side and a bathroom at the back.

“The concept was to highlight the raw materials discovered during the demolition, in order to communicate their material, their relief and colour environment,” explained Goneau.

A kitchen runs along one side of the space. Glossy black cabinets, surfaces and appliances flank the exposed red brickwork, while a contrasting white counter is positioned in front.

“The open kitchen is the focal point of the space; it unfolds on the dining room and living room,” said Goneau.

A floor-to-ceiling glass partition separates the kitchen and dining area from the main bedroom, which residents can choose to screen with curtains.

A full-height bookshelf is positioned in front of this bedroom, forming the backdrop of a living room that is also furnished with a large green sofa and a pair of reclaimed wooden armchairs.

A timber-lined corridor leads to a second bedroom and bathroom towards the rear. The bathroom is divided into sections; on one side the bathtub and steel sink are surrounded by white walls, while the adjacent shower and toilet are contained behind dark-tinted glass for privacy.

Photography is by Adrien Williams.

Here’s a description from the designer:

Espace St-Denis

The project is the design of a 1,280 square feet condo located on the ground floor of a triplex in Montreal. The mandate was to divide each living area in order to maximise while maintaining the architectural integrity of the existing location, each room with natural light.

The concept was to highlight the raw materials, discovered during the demolition (brick wall, wall hemlock and steel structure), in order to communicate their material, their relief and colour environment.

Upon entering the hall is semi-closed hall, so that it has an overview of the condo. The open kitchen is the focal point of the space; it unfolds on the dining room and living room, where the master bedroom fits.

It is bounded by a glass wall which preserves the view of the bare brick; an archaeological reminder wanting to highlight the existing raw materials as an exhibitor showcase. A green velvet sofa, two vintage chairs and a bookshelf that leans against the bedroom wall bound the living room.

On the ground, a radiant hot water heating system was installed under a concrete slab which was covered by a light grey epoxy and polyurethane matt finish to replicate the natural colour of concrete. The primary and secondary bedrooms, as well as the bathroom, are glossy white epoxy to distinguish the private area of the common space.

The steel beam, flameproof, delimits the passage area. In the corridor leading to the bathroom, a light-emitting diode was installed in the recessed ceiling for a more intimate setting, which features the original hemlock wall.

Tone on tone, glossy black kitchen cabinets and electrical appliances are blended. The cooktop with integrated sub-hood, allows maximum exposure of brick wall, the backsplash, lit by a light-emitting diode recessed in counter.

The dining table becomes the visual continuity of the kitchen island. In the bathroom, custom-made stainless steel countertop and bath rectilinear shapes are stacked on each other, forming a sculptural composition. On the floor, a white epoxy and in the shower a dark grey epoxy were applied.

The contrast between these two colours form a psychological boundary of two areas: one is clear and bright, the other, darker, creating a private area for the shower and toilet. The window allows natural light in the room while preserving the intimacy of the space, with a frosted film.

Project name: Espace St-Denis
Description: Design of a condo, storefront
Design: Anne Sophie Goneau
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date: 2013

The post Espace St-Denis by
Anne Sophie Goneau appeared first on Dezeen.

Opening just over a month ago, Clark Street Mercantile is a modest boutique in Montreal aimed at the discerning gentleman. Clothing, footwear, apothecary, pens and paper, magazines, accessories, artwork, bags, blankets, tonic and grenadine, razors—the inventory…

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Le photographe français Julien Coquentin nous emmène pour une excursion très poétique dans les rues de Montréal au travers de sa série « Tôt un Dimanche Matin ». Quotidiennement, il a apprivoisé la ville au travers de son objectif, nous offrant des clichés d’une sensibilité admirable.