The city is full of forgotten corners, sometimes very close to the main roads, which can become pleasant places to live. A small project of five units is nestled in one of them, in the heart of Villeray, focusing in particular on an unusual backyard maisonette, a type of dwelling that could facilitate access to property.
Posted November 11
Rue Saint-Élie is hidden in the colorful maze of Villeray’s urban fabric, behind rue Jarry Est, in Montreal. Shaded by a few trees, this cul-de-sac has the backyards of businesses and apartments on one side and a handful of residential buildings and a dilapidated garage on the other. .
It is here that the firm L. McComber — living architecture designed the restoration of a duplex and the construction of three new apartments, where another garage was located, for promoters Jean-Claude Rivard and Frédérick Lizotte. In all, five families could make their nest at the end of rue Saint-Élie. Each unit, whose area varies from 1340 sq.2 at 2025 ft2has three or four bedrooms, a fairly rare offer in town.
Rarer still: the project baptized Saint-Élie-de-Villeray by the architects — to evoke the friendliness of the village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton by storyteller Fred Pellerin — includes a small house at the back of the courtyard.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The small house at the end of the courtyard, on the left, occupies the back of the land. Attached to the extension of the duplex, on the right, it is built on four levels, from the basement to the mezzanine, with its terrace.
This property occupies the rear part of the land. It is built on four levels, with the bedrooms in the basement and on the ground floor, the kitchen upstairs and a living room on the mezzanine which opens onto a terrace where the view extends to Mount Royal.
It’s a really atypical construction in the market, which allowed us to densify the city without disfiguring it, by remaining two stories on the street.
The architect Laurent McComber
A nice puzzle
We had to be bold to allow this building to come out of the ground, because backyard houses are generally prohibited in Montreal. In order to comply with the regulations, the maisonette was “attached” to two units located on the street side by a series of sheds.
The whole design of the project represented a nice puzzle. “The promoter wanted a beautiful architect’s project, but not an architect’s trip, to keep prices more accessible”, says Laurent McComber, who played with the volumes to respect the constraints of the land, while favoring the harmony between the existing building and the new construction.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
Before the works. The duplex, on the left, and the garage.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
During construction of new properties
-
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Not all units have yet found takers. On Centris, three of the five properties are listed at prices ranging from $789,000 to $899,000, plus taxes.
1/3
“We had to limit ourselves to an implantation rate of 70% and keep the duplex, which was nevertheless enlarged. We therefore favored larger rather than more numerous dwellings, continues the architect. We wanted to give each unit a small outdoor space, a courtyard or a terrace. All with interesting views and natural light. »
As the units are on at least two levels, none are completely underground. The rooms are sometimes small, but the large windows mean that it does not feel cramped, especially on the upper floors. “I have long been known as an architect who does things in a compact way, laughs Laurent McComber, but I make sure that the spaces are well qualified and functional. »
-
PHOTO RAPHAËL THIBODEAU, SUPPLIED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
Three of the five units have a roof terrace. The view carries far.
-
PHOTO RAPHAËL THIBODEAU, SUPPLIED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
Units that sit close to the ground take advantage of small courtyards, like this one. The exterior cladding goes from brick to plaster, passing through sheet steel.
-
PHOTO RAPHAËL THIBODEAU, SUPPLIED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
The rooms aren’t huge, but the large windows don’t feel cramped.
-
PHOTO RAPHAËL THIBODEAU, SUPPLIED BY L. MCCOMBER — LIVING ARCHITECTURE
The stairwells of all the units are similar, with their pretty gray linoleum walls.
1/4
Each property has its particularities, in the layout of the rooms of course, but also in terms of the flooring. White oak here, polished concrete there… The stairwells are all alike, however, with their pretty gray linoleum walls. “Not vinyl linoleum, specifies Laurent McComber, but an entirely biosourced material based on jute and linseed oil. »
A solution to the housing crisis?
Municipal bylaws severely limit the construction of backyard homes in and around Montreal, even when they qualify as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which can be rented to family members or students.
According to urban planner Charlotte Montfils-Ratelle, of the firm Arpent, these houses are part of the “cocktail of solutions” to solve the affordable housing crisis.
UHAs are nonetheless arousing growing interest, notes the urban planner. Ottawa has been welcoming them since 2016, for example. On the South Shore, Arpent supported the city of Sainte-Catherine in revising its regulations to make room for them in fairly large lots and thus increase supply in areas that have already been built, which could help first-time buyers. to find a roof.
-
IMAGE PROVIDED BY ARPENT
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are rental dwellings integrated into lots already occupied by a main dwelling.
-
IMAGE PROVIDED BY ARPENT
A UHA can be attached or not and located in front of or behind the main dwelling, or on the side of it.
-
IMAGE PROVIDED BY ARPENT
If it is well supervised, the addition of UHA will not upset the life of an already built neighborhood. “It’s a very gentle densification,” explains urban planner Charlotte Montfils-Ratelle, from Arpent.
1/3
“It’s a very gentle densification, at the discretion of the owners, observes Charlotte Montfils-Ratelle. Why not give it away? There are many successful, charming and flirtatious examples of UHAs, which do not detract from the neighborhoods where they are built. »
Of course, UHAs fit in more easily in suburban areas, where the lots are larger. But with a good regulatory framework, there is also a way to build them in the city, she thinks. “Even in completely developed neighborhoods under a bell tower, such as the Plateau Mont-Royal, there are great challenges for architects to meet! »