In the middle of Saint-Laurent Boulevard, behind a period brick facade, hides a pretty urban garden. At the bottom of this garden, you can see an imposing glass facade whose transparency reveals three large floors. Without forgetting the waterfall, which gently guides us towards the entrance… This astonishing proposal does not come from a museum or an art gallery, but from a sofa store in the heart of the city. ! We toured the owner of this Montreal business, which has won many awards for its architecture.
We join Tim Zyto, Danny Chartier and Daniel Cohlmeyer at the flagship store on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal. While the first two are the co-founders of Montauk Sofa, the third is the architect whose firm carried out the (imposing) renovations of the building. Today, a few years after the opening, they can finally contemplate the result of this long hard work.
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PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
As soon as you enter the garden in front of the Montauk Sofa, you forget that you are in the middle of Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
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PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
The glass facade rises over three floors, in addition to having a basement.
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The showroom is spread over three floors, plus a basement. The polished concrete floors create the perfect setting for the armchairs and accessories on display. The vast and bright space leaves plenty of room for objects, and that’s what we wanted.
The work was spread over several years, remember the owners. It must be said that they had their work cut out for them when they acquired this building, which dates from the early 1900s. Or rather should we say these buildings, since there were three of them. Originally, there was even an alley there that meandered between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Dominique Street, which has now disappeared. It was therefore no small task to consolidate everything, as well as to obtain the necessary permits to carry out their audacious proposal.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Danny Chartier and Tim Zyto, co-owners of Montauk Sofa, and architect Daniel Cohlmeyer
Sacrifice square footage
The key idea of the project is undoubtedly to have destroyed part of the original building in order to create a garden in front. For heritage reasons, we had to keep the street facade of the original building, topped with paned window bands. From the street, we can therefore mainly see this brick wall and the garden that is emerging behind it.
The owners weren’t afraid to gut the building to create this public space. And the game was well worth the effort, because the place is like a little gem in the middle of the urban fabric, created in concert with the landscape architect Myke Hodgins of the firm HETA.
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PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
During the summer, a small waterfall flows from the ground floor to the skylight which overlooks the basement.
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PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
The facade of the original building has been retained. At night, a grid bars the gate for security reasons.
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You don’t hear the sound of Saint-Laurent at all, but rather the flowing water, the birds… Just two steps and you enter another world.
Daniel Cohlmeyer, architect
To compensate for the lost space in the front, they dug and finished the basement. This turned out to be a colossal task, especially since the soil was very clayey, making excavation difficult. They had to redo the foundations, which cost them space on each side of the walls. Never mind, they decided that it would be an integral part of the design: objects are now displayed on these concrete structures!
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Some products offered at Montauk Sofa
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Montauk also represents Italian kitchens Valcucine. For the record, the safe (on the right in the photo) was already in the building when it was acquired, and the owners decided to keep it.
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“The square feet that we lost by destroying the first part of the building, we wanted to recover them in the basement. That’s why we wanted natural light behind and in front,” says Tim Zyto. Indeed, the entire building stands out for its transparency, including the basement. Light enters from both sides thanks to the skylight where a waterfall flows, at the front. At the back, the ceilings are pierced so that we have a view of the four floors.
PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
In the basement, the addition of foundations on either side of the walls has made them lose space, but these are used to display objects. A small waterfall runs down the concrete wall outside.
The floors are linked by flights of stairs or by the elevator, which is original. The steps, especially those that are outside, are a nod to the emblematic Montreal staircases, points out Daniel Cohlmeyer.
PHOTO NANNE SPRINGER, PROVIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
Upward view of the large opening, which spans all four floors, bringing light throughout the building
The total
Although the floors are similar in their layout, the perspective on the garden is changing, notes Tim Zyto. “Each time you get to a different floor, the garden is a little different, because you’re higher. »
Co-founded in 1995 by Tim Zyto and Danny Chartier, Montauk has other stores including Calgary, Vancouver, Chicago and New York. In Montreal, where they nevertheless manufacture their armchairs, they did not own the old store, also located on the Hand, a few blocks north. For this one, they therefore wanted the total. And they got it, as evidenced by the numerous prizes – notably from the Ordre des architectes du Québec and the Grands Prix du Design – which have all rewarded their audacity.