Rivard House
At the heart of Montreal’s coveted Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, lies a typical duplex from the 1900s that has recently been transformed by L’Abri into a two-story family home. The project has taken the opportunity to decompartmentalize the original space, providing a greater sense of openness and simplicity.
On the ground floor, the living spaces are arranged as a large continuous space, spanning from the street to the garden. The washroom serves as an opaque volume buffering the vestibule from the rest of the house, while the kitchen occupies the centre of the residence, featuring a large island integrated to the space.
Running along the latter is the true focal element of the home: an opening between the two floors with a skylight, allowing daylight to seep in all the way to the ground floor. A wooden staircase rises within this opening, with a continuous steel handrail that turns along the second-floor walkway. The master suite is located in the front part of the building and the room has high ceilings due to the natural slope of the roof.
Auxiliary spaces are given the chance to bathe in daylight as well: the master walk-in closet faces the street balcony, while a second opening is created above the master suite shower. At the back of the house, a new exterior staircase extends to the rooftop terrace, offering a retreat from the city, as well as a view of the Mount-Royal and downtown Montreal.
