A unique design for an innovative and protective structure
Via v2com
February 3, 2021
The Pearl House, inspired by the modern movement of the 1960s, is the new home of a South Korean family with two young children. Arriving in Quebec in 2008, Min and Yuong have been living for the past 10 years in a small condo on top of a large residential building in Montreal. Since settling here, the couple has had two children. The toddlers spend a lot of time playing indoors, and the family is starting to feel cramped.
For Min and Yuong, moving into a home with well-balanced living spaces and giving their daughter and son the opportunity to play outside freely has become a priority.
The Pearl House grew from a strong, simple concept: to treat the house as a design element that expresses the idea of a sanctuary.
After some research, the couple fell in love with a bungalow erected on a large lot around the corner, surrounded by mature trees, in the borough of Saint-Laurent, north of Montreal. Although the interior decor needs a thorough overhaul, the house, inspired by the modern movement of the 1960s, has clean lines and interesting architectural elements. This is an ideal scenario for orchestrating a project full of family appeal.
Even before he moved in, Min, a design enthusiast, had several ideas to modernize his future home. He wanted to open up the interior spaces to reunite his family in a large open room, enlarge the house to add a master bedroom and arrange the backyard as an exterior extension of the living spaces.
With these intentions, the house’s original shape would clearly evolve significantly. However, the clients wanted the house’s new architectural language to express a single contemporary building, rather than a collection of distinct architectural volumes.
After meeting several architectural firms, Min decided to work with Maxime Moreau, the architect and founder of the Montreal firm MXMA Architecture & Design. The two professionals quickly developed a strong rapport and set off to discover new spaces.
Concept and strategies developed by the architect
The Pearl House grew from a strong, simple concept: to treat the house as a design element that expresses the idea of a sanctuary.
The architect imagined the building as a large box containing the original house and the new master bedroom. He then removed a portion of this box to create a void, an inner courtyard, a protected place that highlights the large maple tree in the middle of the garden. This subtraction also lets natural light pass through the entire floor plan, revealing surfaces with warm, contrasting textures. As a result, the backyard becomes a soothing indoor-outdoor space where the family can gather to eat, play, or simply relax.
A key challenge in modernizing this house was the relationship between the roof’s different panels. The existing house had a gable roof and a flat mezzanine roof, and their shapes didn’t match the residence’s architectural style.
To create a continuous, homogeneous form, the architect demolished the mezzanine and extended the existing roof surfaces to cover the new master bedroom, while respecting the existing alignments, lines, and eaves. As a result, the original house’s shape naturally emerged as part of the new residence, forming a harmonious whole.
An important issue in the modernization of this house was the relationship between the different panels of the roof.
In terms of layout, the house forms an “L” and is arranged in four zones. First, to the north is an organized string of intimate spaces. The children’s bedrooms, fitted out in the original house, take advantage of the existing windows, which minimizes work on the facades. A new bathroom separates these rooms and enhances acoustic comfort. Along the same axis, the master bedroom sits in the new extension. It includes a spacious bathroom and a closet room. A 20-foot-wide patio door allows the couple to fully enjoy the garden from their bedroom.
The living room, kitchen, and dining room combine into a large living space at the heart of the house. With a 15-foot ceiling, generous floor-to-ceiling windows, plenty of built-in storage, and transformable living spaces, this spacious room invites family members to share special moments while enjoying abundant natural light and a soothing view of the surrounding vegetation.
At the west end are functional spaces, including a garage and a vestibule with a laundry area. Finally, facing the backyard, a large cedar deck frames the first floor, allowing the interior spaces to continue outward while giving the impression of a more spacious home.
Emphasis on wood
The concept of a shell that houses precious interior spaces quickly became not only an opportunity to celebrate natural light and vegetation but also to reveal the durability and liveliness of wood. In the backyard, the vertical walls and soffits that make up the new roof are clad with planks of western Canadian red cedar. To strengthen the relationship between the interior and exterior, the wood surfaces continue throughout the residence. The white oak floors, in the same tone as the walls and ceilings, give the rooms an inviting and warm character.
The design emphasized certified wood and metal to create durable, environmentally friendly exterior coverings. Assembling the exterior walls with staggered posts provides superior thermal insulation that is cost-effective over the long term. To illuminate the living spaces and naturally capture heat from solar radiation, the new bays were placed to the south. High-performance windows and glazing were also used.
An environmentally friendly house
In addition, all the trees on the property have been preserved. Retained in the new house’s design, the large maple tree in the heart of the garden becomes an architectural element in its own right. It is thus honoured for its ecological, aesthetic and social benefits. In addition, the team planted three new trees in the yard to reduce the risk of the urban heat island effect.
Finally, with its style, materials, spatial organization, and varied energy supply strategies, Pearl House is an eloquent expression of environmentally friendly architecture, contributing significantly to improving the quality of life for a family that dreamed of living in contact with nature.
The kitchen
Inspired by specific materials, colours, and textures, the Pearl House kitchen is a warm space, open to the whole family, and well integrated into the home’s overall concept.
The black metal shell, which envelops the body of the house, folds inside to become a large black piece of furniture: the central element of a sophisticated kitchen. This original gesture reinforces the continuity of architectural space between inside and outside.
The symbolism of the colour black, which represents existence and mastery in Korean culture, is echoed in the matte black finish of the cabinets and countertops. Thus, the kitchen’s integrated style gives the heart of the house the image of a new beginning, a culturally important symbol for homeowners.
The kitchen furniture also contrasts with the brightness of the white oak floors and the abundant light that radiates into the interior spaces. Finally, the multiple storage spaces, which meet the family’s daily needs, are hidden behind large doors and integrated into the interior architecture to create a functional space with a true minimalist aesthetic.
MXMA Architecture & Design
MXMA Architecture & Design delivers contemporary architectural works and amazing spaces that transform our social environment. The firm arranges project components to build sensitive structures that respond to a defined setting while taking on an iconic form. These living spaces stimulate our senses and leave lasting impressions.
Images: Annie Faffard
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