Share to
Maison Melba
By : Atelier L'Abri
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture : Grand Winner
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Renovation : Platinum Winner
Categories : Special Award / Sustainable Architecture : Gold Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Cottage & Country House : Gold Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Private House > 2 000 pi2 (> 185 m2) : Platinum Winner
A Passive-House Retrofit rooted in the land
Atelier L’Abri presents Maison Melba, a place of life, creation, and exchange designed in harmony with the landscape and rustic heritage of the Village of Frelighsburg, on a small Eastern Townships road leading to Vermont.
Anchored in preservation and sustainability, this unique architectural project tells a story: that of the sensitive and sustainable renovation of a rural building nestled in the heart of the meadows and orchards emblematic of this agricultural region of southern Quebec.
Embodying the new owner’s values of sharing and hospitality, the former 1970s automobile garage has been transformed into a living space that is open to the community and the development of collaborative projects.
Inspired by the fertile ecosystem of Frelighsburg, Maison Melba now houses a residence, a work studio, a workshop, and a culinary production and meeting space. Outside, the small plot of land also includes a greenhouse and a garden dedicated to small-scale vegetable production, with the majority of food production to be consumed or processed on-site.
The project’s design is based on sensitivity to details and the passive-house expertise of the architects, resulting in a project where beauty is in harmony with performance.
A sensitive architecture
The building plan is distinguished by a large interstice slicing through the center of the building. Beneath a high skylight, the local natural stone floor extends the landscaping indoors to create a transitional space between the house and the creative areas.
Inside the house, the open plan is softly punctuated by furniture. The atmosphere is calm and warm. The sequence of spaces is composed of small moments conducive to the appreciation of materials, details, and nature. The eye wanders over the Douglas Fir floor, the lime-coated walls, the white oak furniture, the massive hemlock structure, the tall linen curtains, and the large wood windows that frame the landscape. On the workshop side, industrial-grade materials in neutral colors blend subtly into a bright canvas that invites collaboration and creativity.
A sustainable transformation
To begin this transformation, the building’s envelope that had reached its end of life was carefully dismantled to preserve only the original wood frame behind the house’s distinctive mansard silhouette. A new double-stud wall structure was then built within the existing skeleton to allow for increased insulation thickness, while reducing thermal bridges. These new thick walls, reminiscent of ancient constructions, are filled with cellulose fiber, a natural insulation material made from recycled paper. On the exterior, the intermediate cladding is composed of ecological and insulating sheathing panels made from entirely recycled wood fiber, another bio-sourced product. PassivHaus certified triple-glazed windows complete the envelope and promote passive-solar principles. Finally, an exemplary air tightness rating of 0.37 ACH at 50Pa gives the building exceptional energy efficiency performance. With this technical rigor, Maison Melba will be part of the Frelighsburg landscape for many decades to come.
Collaboration
