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Résidence Courcelette
By : Ariel Aaron Architecte
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Stairs : Gold Certification
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Renovation : Gold Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Prestige House : Gold Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Private House > 2 000 pi2 (> 185 m2) : Bronze Certification
The Courcelette residence is a complete renovation of a single-family home in Outremont, Montreal. This luxury home adjacent to Mont-Royal is integrated with respect and elegance to the neighborhood. Specializing in Montreal residential since 2014, the firm wanted to keep the essence of the house while adapting it to a current lifestyle.
The exterior architecture denotes careful work on the façade. The additions of a basilaire and a gray stone band punctuate the elevation and offer a clear lecture of the building, a nod to classical architecture. The original brick envelope has been preserved and refreshed. The openings have been enlarged and highlighted by stone and aluminum frames. The roof overhangs and the entrance canopy are more assertive and frame the stone and brick masonry, thus highlighting them.
The entrance door blends into a large black aluminum wall. The smooth metal panels participate in a play of textures of the mineral façade. The full height side transom brings in light and contributes to the modernity of the entrance, which welcomes in large and in simplicity.
The master bedroom:
Classically built, the house has a particularity: a small volume all in length that comes to occupy one of the sides of the square building. In plan and elevation, this space stands out from the rest of the house. In what was once the living room, the architect decided to place the master bedroom. The mid-level position and the recess with the front and rear façades naturally create privacy. The master bedroom, slightly removed from the rest of the house – the 4 other bedrooms are on the second floor – has its own private access to the garden and the pool.
Using the same language as the front door of the house, the sliding door to the bedroom blends into the wooden wall marking the entrance to the master suite. Although the door opens onto a wall that allows for privacy from the common spaces, inside, the separations between the bedroom, bathroom and dressing room disappear, inviting fluidity into this private space.
A preserved envelope, a modernized interior:
Inside the residence, the configuration of the old house remained partially the same. The interventions focused on opening up the first floor living spaces as much as possible, both to each other and to the backyard: the result is generous spaces, flooded with light.
In the house, the staircase acts as the element surmounting it: a light well. The absence of risers and the presence of glass allow light to pass through. With its graphic steel stringers cut into sawtooth shapes, and its warm wooden steps, the staircase is a flagship element that combines materials and functions.
The white oak floors bring warmth and timelessness to the residence. The white walls act as a blank page highlighting the artwork and monochromatic built-in furniture. A majestic marble slab adorns the living room wall and hosts the fireplace and television, both past and present gathering elements. With its attention to detail and the coherence of its interventions, the Courcelette residence finds its balance between the respect of the old and the incarnation of the contemporary.
Text by Lorène Copinet
