PARKA Architecture has renovated a modernist home in Quebec City, preserving its most successful features while bringing in more natural light and decluttering the interiors.
Located in the residential neighbourhood of Sainte-Foy, the original home was built in the 1960s, but was in need of a refresh. PARKA collaborated with Canadian product designer Guillaume Sasseville, a mutual friend of the architects and clients.
“The home possessed many architectural qualities, but needed to be reconfigured to respond to the owner’s lifestyle and a contemporary family’s needs,” said Luc Bélanger of PARKA. “The brief was to reorganise public spaces and circulation within them, while preserving the home’s character.”
The two-storey Résidence de la Rue de l’Espéranto encompasses 4,800 square feet (446 square metres) and contains five bedrooms. The project mainly consisted in bringing more light to the interiors and opening up the spaces.
A newly refurbished vestibule greets visitors with a hefty stone wall that allows glimpses of the living, dining, and kitchen areas beyond. The other side of the wall contains a double fireplace facing the living room.
To increase the area of the home’s public spaces, separate programmes were combined into a more open configuration. The architects removed a wall that divided the kitchen from the living and dining room, creating a continuous space for the communal functions.
The home’s lower level, which overlooks the back yard due to a grade change, was also converted into an airy living space. A staircase with wood treads and open risers connects this area to the upper level.
Downstairs, the den can be split into two distinct rooms by a bright yellow sliding door. “In addition to adding character to the space, it provides the users with more flexibility,” said the architects.
Closing the door provides more privacy to a home gym when it’s in use. At other times though, opening up the space creates a larger family room.
Besides this splash of colour, the materials used for the renovation use a warm domestic palette. Wooden surfaces were chosen throughout the living spaces, and the kitchen was finished with white cabinets and black countertops.
Other renovations in Quebec include a project by Atelier Pierre Thibault that centres around a plywood staircase and a home in Montreal where two flats were combined into a single dwelling.
Bright yellow accents also take the centre stage in a historic home that Naturehumaine added a sculptural staircase to.
Photography is by Jessy Bernier.
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