Van Horne
Our clients wanted to transform and expand a two-storey building on Van Horne Avenue in Outremont, Montreal. The ground floor was going to be used for commercial purposes, on the second floor we would create an apartment for rent and we would add a third storey that would become our client’s housing unit. Of the existing building, only the concrete structure of the ground floor has been preserved.

Volumes
The project plays with imbricated volumes. In the back, those boxes are either protruding or set back which creates private outdoor terraces for each unit.
    This play with volumes can also be felt inside. In the 3rd floor unit, the kitchen has a very high ceiling and opens to the back thru a large glazed opening onto an outdoor terrace. This overheight also allows for a window strip on the west side to bring the afternoon light inside the space. The living room area is also clearly distinct from the bedroom block thanks to a large skylight that opens up the roof between these two spaces.

The perforated screen
The main element of the street facade is a superimposed perforated screen. It is composed of perforated aluminum panels, painted white. This «lace like» screen covers the volume of residential floors. Viewed from the inside, this screen acts as a claustra and fragments the view of the large 6-storey building on the opposite side of the street, in addition to preserving the privacy of the occupants. In the evening, when the lights are on inside, the building lights up like a lantern.
    A recess on the 2nd floor of the main facade creates a loggia, an architectural element quite present on the avenue Van Horne. This loggia is occupied by a green roof installed on a cantilever which marks the entries of the housing units and the dental clinic.

Year : 2017
Team : Paul Bernier, Alexandre Bernier
Collaboration with Carl-Antonyn Dufault for the parametric conception of the lattice pattern
Structural Engineer: Alain Mousseau (Calculatec)
Photos : ©Adrien Williams