Share to
Semi détaché, détaché
By : Jean-Maxime Labrecque, architecte
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 14th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Residential Building / Single-Family Home : Bronze Certification
Semi-detached, detached
We had to detach, to be able to breathe and assume an identity. So, we went ahead, and virtually detached half of a 1963 semi-detached facade, in Outremont, Quebec. This 4 storey-high building is perched on the mountain and has an unobstructed view of Montreal that until then had not been fully exploited. The building’s north façade was constituted of a disparate assemblage of low-cost doors and windows. We transformed it by covering the two upper floors with a glass surface that rests on the opaque white rectangle of the two lower floors. The glass curtain wall now allows natural light into the master bedroom on the upper level and the kitchen on the entry level, while at the same time opening spectacular views of Montreal. The clients being art collectors, the blind walls of the two lower floors will be used as surfaces for the exhibition of paintings and other artistic installations. In addition to enhancing the quality of life of the young family, the project corrected the energy performance problems of the original building. In the garden, a concrete terrace extends the lower floor gallery into a concrete surface. Note that the daytime views do not show the metallic structure superimposed on the façade, as it was installed after the first photoshoot. It can however be seen on the night time pictures. Second half of the semi-detached façade has not been renovated. The before and after renovation works pictures can be summarized on a single image.
