The aperitif | Fix past mistakes

In the 1950s or 1960s, an extension on the courtyard side disfigured the interior of a century-old house in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough. Wishing to fix the mistakes of the past, the owner called on the architects of L. McComber – living architecture.

Valerie Simard
Press

It is a classic neighborhood house with its dark woodwork, stained glass windows and large solid wood staircase. If the front part of the house had been well preserved, this was not the case for the rear, where a volume after all generic, with no apparent link with the existing part, had been added. In addition, he was poorly isolated. “We froze so much here! Exclaims Pierre Roberge, owner of the house for four years. “We had set up a small room where we could have a drink with my sons, but at -20 ° C, it was not livable. ”

By stripping the walls, they understood the cause of this freezing temperature. “We could see outside,” remembers Mr. Roberge. It was a construction on pieces of wood which was not isolated at all. They also discovered a steel beam that was hanging on almost nothing.

“We took the opportunity to significantly repair the structure, redo the brick cladding and insulate,” says Emmanuelle Dorais, architect responsible for the project. It is rare that we are able to waterproof old houses because we lose a lot of interior space and there are budget constraints. ”

Also, since the expansion and the kitchen had no special character, there was no guilt in removing everything and starting over. The “L” shaped space has retained its function; on one side, the kitchen and, on the other, a room to have an aperitif, which inspired the name of the project: The aperitif. The two are connected by the extension of the marble kitchen counter which becomes a bar, then a cushioned bench, designed to measure. The room opens onto a large sliding wooden door giving access to the courtyard. The other openings have also been enlarged in order to bring in as much light from the south-east.

The main challenge was to integrate the updated space into the existing one, underlines Emmanuelle Dorais. A challenge that is increased tenfold when the existing one is a century-old house with a lot of character.

“There are several options,” she explains. First, you can decide to replicate the old one completely, but it’s a bit more difficult to find craftsmen who have this skill these days. Otherwise, another strategy that the architects use is to go hyper contemporary with the silent little glass box, which in no way robs the old-fashioned spectacle. We went between the two. It is clearly a contemporary space, but there is a lot of dialogue with the old part of the house. ”

Conversation with the past

This conversation is organized mainly around the materials that have been chosen: solid wood and natural stone. The ceramic floor has been replaced with stained red oak. The ornamentation is minimalist, but inspired by ancient times. On the lower part of the dresser, which covers the radiator, double spikes have been cut from the powder-coated steel, replicating the pattern found on the railing of the staircase. On the upper part, the tempered glass is reminiscent of stained glass. Chair rails were also placed on the walls, like the other rooms in the house.

“In old houses, we often see that a much more impact resistant material has been used at the bottom of the walls,” notes the architect. Today, that is no longer done, the gypsum goes to the ground. We replicated it here, but in a sober form, with fiberglass wallpaper. It is very resistant to impacts. ”

If white oak was chosen for this project, it is because of the windows. An interior wooden frame has been favored over PVC to harmonize with the other windows of the house. However, these triple-glazed windows, which come from a European manufacturer, were only offered in white oak. To soften the contrast with the woodwork in the dining room, the owner chose to strip them and stain them a lighter color. The cavernous effect was greatly reduced. “In the morning here, the light is superb,” remarks Pierre Roberge. Everything is pale, it’s relaxing, it’s easy on the eye. It’s very nice. ”

If architecture is an art that relates to the visual, it cannot ignore the comfort of the occupants, notes Emmanuelle Dorais. “How are they going to feel in their house? Are they going to be warm? Is there going to be enough light? Are they going to be psychologically happy? That’s our role, the architects. ”

It took more than two years, since his first meeting with the architect in 2019, for Pierre Roberge to take advantage of this new space. “We waited a year for the contractor to be available,” explains M^me Dorais. It was a very difficult context. Already before the pandemic, the construction industry was overheating. It was very difficult to find contractors, especially for the quality we wanted. ”

Ironically, Pierre Roberge will be leaving his house soon. A decision he made after his sons left the family nest earlier than expected this year. It is therefore new owners who will be able to fully benefit from it.