Nineteen affordable, high-performance housing units are built in Montreal’s East End for seniors who have experienced homelessness
The complex challenge of this commission was to quickly build affordable housing without compromising its integration into the neighborhood nor its performance. Funding from the Government of Canada and the City of Montreal was granted in March 2021, through CMHC’s ICRL program. To meet the 18-month design-to-delivery deadline, the architects relied on standardization and prefabrication. Early in the process, close collaboration with the engineers and the builder aims to achieve quality housing, while respecting time and budget constraints.
The two-storey layout fills a gap in the urban fabric of eastern Notre-Dame Street. The units are arranged on either side of a central circulation, forming a compact volume with a regular rhythm. With a surface area of less than 30m², the units are compact, but fitted out with plenty of storage and generous glazing that gives an impression of grandeur. The units’ loggias provide respite, privacy and fresh air for tenants. Flooded with natural light, the double-height lobby provides a friendly and inclusive welcome. The adjoining common room and its office allow the staff to ensure regular follow-up with the tenants. Outside, multiple vegetated rest areas reduce the heat island effect and multiply exchanges between users. Thanks to the organic garden, the happy residents have the chance to practice a productive and therapeutic activity. The colorful, high-performance, inclusive, vegetated architectural project, open to the neighborhood, encourages interaction and support for a vulnerable clientele. A winning formula to be replicated for sure!
An old duplex and repair shop transformed into five townhouses in Villeray
Nestled in a cul-de-sac behind Jarry street, little Saint-Élie street is a surprise. Here one finds auto mechanics’ shops, the back of various businesses, duplexes, a few mature trees and, above all, a very serene atmosphere. In acquiring the duplex and its double lot, this developer, an appreciator of architecture, wanted to densify the area without spoiling it.
To do so, the duplex was extended to the rear and upwards. It now houses two units of three and four bedrooms with bright living areas, including a large roof terrace. On the second lot, the demolished repair shop makes room for a new two-storey attached triplex with mezzanine and roof terrace. To maximize natural light and privacy, the architects created a maisonnette at the back of the courtyard accessible through a carriage entrance on the façade. The combination of airy metal-clad volumes set on a pinkish clay brick base enlivens the building. Welcome to five new families in Saint-Élie-de-Villeray !
Four families enjoy beneficial densification in their new Rosemont duplex
Steps away from the Botanical Gardens, a through lot was eagerly awaiting densification. Bordered by wooded properties to the north and recent condos to the south, its vacant frontage on Charlemagne Avenue was divided into two lots for development. How could quality living spaces for families be created on such shallow parcels? The architects’ answer was to stack two two-story dwellings on each lot.
The duplexes are each made up of an orangey brick projecting volume on the first two floors, topped by a recessed metal cladding volume on the third. Repeated from one lot to the next, the ensemble creates a nice rhythm one would want to continue on adjacent lots to the north. As a finishing touch, a pattern of recesses of varying widths in the cladding accentuates the verticality and emphasizes the regular alignment of the generous openings. At the entrances, wide staircases provide an invitation to dawdle and to chat with neighbors. At the rear, a courtyard and generous overhanging balcony provide each family with an outdoor space to bask among the trees. Inside each unit, a service block organizes circulation and ensures adequate separation between spaces. Welcome to Les Répliques, a fine example of fruitful infill enlivening the already vibrant neighborhood of Rosemont!
Located at the busy intersection of Beaubien and de Lorimier Streets, this compact two-storey building was next to an outdated car dealership. The development project added eleven apartments and two retail units on three floors and a mezzanine, all without compromising the original volume.
Intended to accommodate local shops on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors, the new rental building blends harmoniously into this human-scale neighborhood. The extension is built on the dominant alignment on Beaubien. On the first floor, the large windows open generously onto the commercial street. The entrances to the apartments are accentuated by recesses in the facade.
Light, the volume of the 3rd floor blends into the sky thanks to its large openings and its rhythmic silver metallic cladding. Strategic setbacks offer residents generous terraces that bring the roof to life. By linking the century-old corner building to its extension, this long horizontal volume “crowns” the transformation !
Former warehouses in Old Rosemont are converted into three large condominiums with spectacular backyard views.
With these large vacant warehouses, this former semi-commercial duplex in Old Rosemont was perfect for a conversion. The developer wanted to create three large units for families wishing to live in the city. By restoring and enhancing the original façade (1929), the architectural design minimizes the extension’s impact on the street. The typical Montreal staircase and its bi-plank balcony with decorative columns are restored. The densification of the 2nd floor is affirmed in an abstract and contemporary volume in pre-painted black corrugated steel cladding. The verticality of the fluting contrasts the horizontality of the existing masonry. The color of the sheet metal echoes that of the existing woodwork and wrought iron. Its smooth texture stands out against the brick. Slightly recessed, the new volume gives the impression of emerging from the existing facade without completely detaching itself from it.
The central part of the warehouses is demolished to create an inner courtyard. The rear part is converted into indoor garages. The two ground floor apartments open generously onto a peaceful and intimate garden. The kitchen of the third unit, on the mezzanine, benefits from a large private roof terrace. Thanks to the thoughtful layout of the living areas, each unit enjoys both natural light and privacy.
The quality of the intervention contributes not only to the improvement of the built environment in the area, but also to its revitalization through residential use. It allowed the transformation of a former empty warehouse into three large and welcoming apartments for three new families in this very lively neighborhood of Rosemont.
The surprising conversion of a Rosemont shoebox into a luminous triplex.
Confronted with regulations intended to preserve the “shoeboxes” of the Rosemont district, the new developers were looking to densify their property. By enlarging the building in height and depth, the architects succeeded in converting it into a triplex, housing a 1500 sq. ft. apartment on the ground floor and two adjacent 1000 sq. ft. apartments with a mezzanine on the first floor.
The intervention preserves the original features of the façade and its symmetrical composition is repeated on the upper floor. The party walls and a large part of the foundations have been preserved and repaired. The addition in the backyard makes it possible to take advantage of a beautiful courtyard. A new floor and its mezzanine provides natural light and offers dynamic views onto the alley.
With its sober treatment and elegant masonry, the building reveals a clear interpretation of two things: the restored “shoebox” typical of the fifties and its extension, which reflect the current effervescence of the neighborhood. This project of gentle densification welcomes new families, reviving the ideals of ownership that the “shoebox” once meant.
A new mixed-use building featuring eight dwellings houses the firm’s offices, a short walk from Plaza Saint-Hubert!
The dwellings are organised around a large inner courtyard which provides access through two carriage entrances. Half of the apartments open on Saint-Hubert Street while the other half faces the alleyway. Apart from the two studios on the 2nd floor, each apartment has its own mezzanine that opens on to a large private terrace. The double height thus created provides the living room with a beautiful natural light.
The exterior finishes opposes a matt and horizontal Saint-Marc stone with a vertical and ultra-reflective steel cladding. In the inner courtyard, the cladding brings light to the two commercial spaces on the ground floor, warming the souls of the architects who will establish their practice there. Built below the sidewalk, the two identical storefronts open on Saint-Hubert Street, inviting passers-by on their way back from the Plaza.
Prefabricated, ecological and affordable housing codesigned with non-profit organization Ecohome and Énergéco manufacturers.
Entirely prefabricated in modules, the M series can be assembled quickly. Its elegant architecture is only matched by its outstanding eco-friendly design. With two or three floors, semi-detached or isolated, the residences make the most of each site for the happiness of families who wish to live together !
A four unit residential building is born on a lot crossing a city block in the Mile End.
Occupying the rear portion of a lot between Henri-Julien and Drolet, this four-storey building forms an “L” shape, defining two courtyards. You can access these courtyards by an impasse, a large doorway articulating the building’s façade on Drolet. Adorned with dark brown wood siding, this “pass” is bordered by two monochrome beige volumes composed of firmly rooted brick to the north and a lighter cladding above.
Matte and glossy beige bricks emphasize the verticality of the main volume while the screw-less cladding paces the horizontality of the volume that overlooks it.
A new four-unit residential building is being built on Fairmount Avenue in Montreal.
Built up directly next to Fairmount Avenue’s sidewalk, the building welcomes residents on its west-facing side, which allows for the site’s most abundant inflow of light. This layout lights up the building’s main façade, whose three window bands flood each living area with natural light. Each dwelling has its own outdoor space. The main floor opens directly onto a yard encircled by a small brick wall. The second floor enjoys a fantastic view of Boulevard St-Laurent from their large loggia, while the 3rd floor dwellings have a spectacular view of the city from each of their mezzanine’s terraces.
