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 BĂ©langer of PARKA. “The brief was to reorganise public spaces and circulation within them, while preserving the home’s character.”
The two-storey RĂ©sidence de la Rue de l’EspĂ©ranto 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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