The project brief was unusual, to say the least: “Ensure me freedom in my advanced years.”
Via v2com
Previously published in WestmountMag.ca
An elderly client sought Gary Conrath’s services, sinc they already knew each other well: Indesign had conceived and built the co-op building where she had lived for a decade. Her third-storey dwelling was no longer suitable, and she wanted a ground-level home designed to accommodate her anticipated future needs.
The client wanted to live at ground level, in an environment designed to meet her anticipated future needs.
Following her architect’s advice, the client purchased a vacant lot in Verdun, a neighbourhood with history dating back to the beginning of New France. Importantly, the site offered several alternatives to driving. Bus travel, as preferred by seniors, is immediately available in front, and the Métro, Montreal’s subway, is but a short walk away.
With an east-west orientation, the narrow 30-foot lot extends 120 feet in depth. Rather than occupying the full width, the architect chose a footprint that allows an open passageway adjacent to the southern façade. This approach preserves the privacy of the main entrance while also distinguishing the project from the densely built, shoulder-to-shoulder neighbouring homes. To facilitate eventual wheelchair use, a smooth, level surface connects the city sidewalk, the parking space, and the main entrance.
Anticipating the future
Regarding his approach, Gary Conrath describes the design paradox: existing urban forms must be challenged, but not so far as to disrupt the established architectural setting. In Verdun, the built environment is characterized by the recurring archetype of the duplex, adopted in the 1930s for financial considerations. If needed, owners and their families could curtail their spatial needs, live solely on the ground floor, and rent out the upper floor.
The idea of housing that can adapt to significant life changes runs through the project, with open, flat spaces across two levels. The first floor includes essential living spaces, including a washroom and bedroom. The upstairs features a music room, study, artist’s studio and secondary washroom.
Furthermore, should the owner ever require home care services, the studio space would serve as living quarters for an attending careperson. With that possibility in mind, the building includes a private entrance on the south side with direct access to the stairs.
Conrath expresses the design paradox whereby existing urban forms must be challenged, but not so far as to disrupt the established architectural setting.
Referencing the Past
Several elements connect the building’s architecture meaningfully to the area’s history. First is the idea of a massive structure, common under the French regime, but expressed in a contemporary design language. Moreover, features typical to the traditional neighbourhood houses are integrated into the project, the inverted roof slopes serving as a case in point.
This laneway design from the pre-rain gutter era drains runoff from the front and rear surfaces to a central point. More pragmatically, the structure’s form allows a discreet skylight not visible from the street. The resulting volumetrics combine to provide a complete solution within municipal restrictions and the 29-foot height requirement.
The suspended moulded-glass modules on the street façade demonstrate sensitivity to Verdun’s history. This frosted veil, positioned before the 25-foot front window, evokes memories of the Dominion Glass Co., founded in 1905, as well as of the ice-cutters who were so important to the neighbourhood’s economy in the 19th century.
Inside and Outside and Vice Versa
The building itself is a design of cantilevered brick masses. Most striking is the strong connection made between the interior and exterior through dematerialized surfaces. From the outside, the house’s interior planes replace what is carved from the exterior walls. According to the designer, “a façade must entice the passer-by and extend a sense of welcome .” The invitation is all the more compelling thanks to the window frames that project outward, toward the street.
The inverse is also true: the landscape is brought inside, along with high-quality natural light. Diffused by the large east and west glazed surfaces, sunlight grazes along the walls and downward from top to bottom. To better capture southern sun, a central vertical window projecting above the roofline (30 ft.) extends into a skylight feature. In addition, a transparent section of floor in the middle of the upper level floods the centre of the ground floor with a generous afternoon luminosity.
‘Most striking is the strong connection made between the interior and exterior through dematerialized surfaces.’
The Therapeutic Aspect
Visual fluidity is also a way to mitigate the trials and tribulations of the age at which people can find themselves confined to their home, the risk of depression never far away. The wide openings come into play here, allowing the owner to enjoy either nature or the city without having to go outside: a starry sky above the pool, the shadows of trees and raindrops on the glass catwalk; and on the street side, pedestrians passing by and the colourful morning sky.
Distinction
The Ice Shore House was a finalist for The Plan Award 2018, an international competition sponsored by the Italian architecture magazine The Plan. In addition, the project received the 2019 ex aequo residential award in the Grands Prix Design, as held annually in Montreal, Quebec.
Data sheet
Project name: Ice Shore House
Architecture and site planning: Gary Michael Conrath
Drafting: Jonathan Conrath, Nahad Kamel, Veniamin Chukhovitch
Sustainability consultant, architect: Lyse M. Tremblay
Sustainability consultant, engineer: Frédéric Genest
Structural steel engineer: Serafino Valente
Wooden structure technician: Richard Leblanc
Builder: Alain Bédard Rénovations
Glasswork artist: Diane Ferland
Environmental assessment – site decontamination: Inspect-Sol
Geothermal system: Marmott Énergies
About InDesign inc.
The firm was founded in 1984 by Gary Michael Conrath, who holds a bachelor of architecture with minors in urban design and heritage preservation. Over the years, the studio has built an excellent reputation, particularly in the mall-based big-box retail sector. InDesign’s clients include major retailers such as Sports Experts, Primeau Vélo, Québec|Sail and Nike.
Gary Michael Conrath is a Montreal architect and the founder of Indesign inc. / Conrath architecte, an architecture and interior-design firm based in Verdun. The practice is especially associated with commercial, retail, and branded-environment projects in Quebec and Ontario.
Images: Marc Cramer
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