Category:
Maison-Jardin BEAU / Alexandre Bernier Architecte
🏡 Project Overview
Architect: Alexandre Bernier Architecte
Location: St-Henri, Montreal, Canada
Project Area: 2,300 ft² (approx. 213 m²)
Completion Year: 2023
Photography: Maxime Brouillet
Manufacturers: Alumico, Artemide, Chez Lamothe, David Roussel, Hamster, MQ, Mac, Matter, Plan Beton, Showroom Montreal
🧱 Architectural Concept
Situated in the dense, post-industrial neighborhood of St-Henri, this single-family residence distinguishes itself through its vertical volume and raw materiality. The design challenges traditional domestic spaces by transforming a typical Montreal duplex—usually constructed in wood—into a monolithic structure made almost entirely of concrete. This includes the structure, floors, ceilings, and interior finishes. The approach explores the tension between the archetype of a mineral refuge and the openness of a dwelling connected to its environment.
🌿 Integration with Nature
The residence is organized around stacked, free, and open floor plates, allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the space. The garden-facing façade features large openings, and on the ground floor, a substantial sliding door merges the living space with the garden. A reflecting pool acts as a water mirror, amplifying light and introducing freshness, balancing the building's density.
🏗️ Materiality and Sustainability
Concrete is used extensively, with various textures and finishes:
Floors: Polished terrazzo revealing selected aggregates.
Walls: Exposed concrete retaining formwork tie imprints.
Kitchen: Concrete work surfaces, including a 14-foot-long island with rounded corners.
Concrete's thermal mass promotes passive heating and heat storage, complemented by a radiant floor system. Its load-bearing capacity allows for generous fenestration tailored to solar orientations.
✨ Architectural Expression
Maison-Jardin BEAU presents a sensitive architecture of contrasts—where the weight of concrete is lightened through interaction with natural elements. The design offers a new way of inhabiting the city, balancing mass and transparency, permanence and flexibility, rigor and softness.