Project / Published on January 20, 2021
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Nature First
By Juli Pisano
Photos: Adrien Williams
While most of us are confined to our homes in these winter months of critical pandemic lockdown, we thought good to revisit and dive into the sensitive and refined universe of some recent residential projects. Here are great examples of life in symbiosis with nature by a Montreal firm worth knowing…TBA\Thomas Balaban Architecte.
REVISITING RUSTIC
Located in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, the Knowlton Residence contrasts simple forms with vernacular materials to update an aging country farmhouse. The restoration and extension project led by TBA creates a moving seasonal scenery, seamlessly adapted to its environment.
Box-shaped, the extension plays off the familiar farmhouse typology, creating a series of intriguing contrasts, distinguishing and uniting different eras, forms, and materials. Clad in cedar boarding, charred and silvered, the extension replicates harmoniously the weathered wood of neighbouring barns and sheds.
On both the ground and first floor, a strip of windows defines the space that opens upon a majestic view of the property and its mature trees. Nature conquers the interior and sets the dialogue that sets the mood!
This TBA project was rewarded with the GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN 2020 Award for Best Residential Project of 3,200 sq.ft. and more. It was praised for its sobriety, masterliness and contrasts. The exterior gesture complements the interior spatial organization and the relationship to bungalow architecture, deemed most interesting.
Design that inspires contemplation…
Speaking of being in awe … feel like travelling a little? Let’s do it.. Virtually, of course … need be in the present pandemic lockdown…
WELCOME TO HELBY ISLAND
Helby Island, Beautiful British Columbia. Saltwater, rocks, forest, and beaches. Fishing, kayaking, and general messy activities. This is what life at Helby Island is all about. In contrast to the rugged environment, the house is envisioned as a calm place to start and finish the day.
Noticed the geographical isolation of the property? The transition from one environment to the other becomes here the most important aspect of the small house, finalist for a Architizer A+ awards. To this end, the entrance of the house is combined with an outdoor wet room so that you enter full of sand, saltwater, rock and forest debris and emerge clean within the living quarters.
The envelope, conceived as a puffy, layered coat, covering a lightweight galvanized steel skeletal structure creates a piece of architecture that all at once draws on traditional notions of dwelling and exploits the ephemeral nature of its unique habitat. A true gem in the heart of nature!
Imagine the peace of mind of working from home on Helby Island!
WHO’S TBA, YOU WONDER?
TBA is a small but growing multidisciplinary studio focusing on architecture and design. The award-winning practice, established by Tom Balaban in 2009, is currently involved in residential, commercial.Committed to the principle that good architecture does not emerge from marking off items on a check list, the studio approaches architecture as a dynamic system of interrelated hard and soft issues. Each project is a direct result of its own specific evolution and process, achieved by the means and methods best suited to the desired outcome.
Born in Bucharest, Tom Balaban worked with Frank O. Gehry in Los Angeles many years before joining Saucier + Perrotte in Montréal. In 2009, he creates his own firm and signs projects that are sensitive to the culture and environment that host them.