Résidence Berri:
A small sized challenge

Maximizing living space in a century-old coach house with a floating extension

October 10, 2024

The Berri residence, a modest residential extension, challenged Thomas Balaban Architect to maximize the living space of a century-old 130 m2 coach house while making the most of its unique urban conditions.

The main challenge of the project: how to expand, with a tight budget, while preserving the building’s character and its limited outdoor space.

The building is located in the sought-after Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood of Montreal, on an irregularly shaped plot resulting from the subdivision of a large property spanning two streets. The cadastral transaction left the new plot with only a small side yard and an exterior light well at the back.

Interesting lots like Berri’s, with convenience stores, garages, and small industrial buildings scattered among traditional duplexes and triplexes, constitute the neighbourhood’s rich architectural heritage. This earned the area its protected status and regulations aimed at preserving its character and existing building heights. This created the main challenge of the project: how to expand, with a tight budget, while preserving the building’s character and its limited outdoor space.

‘The new floating extension on the second floor protects this precious outdoor space while adding the extra space the young family needed.’

The new floating extension on the second floor protects this precious outdoor space while adding the extra space the young family needed. It yields the front and back of the plot to its two existing mature maple trees. The setback and elevation of the new volume preserve the important presence of the trees in the streetscape and avoid damaging their root systems while creating a sheltered private garden.

Built in 1910, the existing coach house had already undergone several renovations. The appearance of the original structure is largely preserved, its exterior has been restored and the windows replaced. Inside, layers of interventions have been removed.

Clad in flat galvanized panels, the floating volume reflects natural light into the garden below, giving the extension a sense of lightness. Its concealed details and modern geometry contrast with the masonry of the old building. They also reduce the visual impact on adjacent houses in a confined space, highlighting an abstract palette of sky and foliage. Strategically placed openings give the living spaces privacy, while full-height windows bring necessary light into the house through open circulation spaces.

Stripped down to the original shell of the carriage house, the interiors seek to celebrate the natural qualities of the utilitarian structure and the beauty of everyday construction. Raw materials, rich textures, and minimal details play with softer modern furniture and the family’s extensive art collection. Plywood plays the role of wallpaper and the steel structure mimics wood joinery, giving the project a timeless quality where mid-century modern meets a construction site within the stripped Victorian shell.

At the entrance, in the northwest corner, a new opening through the floor connects the three levels with an ultra-minimal and transparent staircase. The raw steel structure integrates the entrance closet, circulation, and sculptural effect. The transparency of the filigree staircase, combined with sliding partitions, allows the small ground floor area to breathe during the day.

Upstairs, the kitchen, dining room, office space, and staircase are organized around an enlarged central structural column that incorporates a washroom, closet, sound system, and coffee station. This compact layout allows for both connections and visual privacy. Strategically placed windows and existing skylights punctuate the spaces, bringing natural light and a connection to the outdoors. They provide a changing and natural counterpoint to the abstract artworks displayed throughout the house.

Technical sheet

Architects: TBA – Thomas Balaban
Maxime Lefebvre, Julia Manaças
Structural Engineer: Lateral

About TBA

Thomas Balaban Architect has a multidisciplinary approach focused on architecture, design, and research. Founded by Thomas Balaban in 2009 in Montreal, the agency works primarily in the fields of commercial and residential architecture. The firm is also involved in design in various areas ranging from cultural facilities to scenography. Sensitive to contemporary culture, the work of this Montreal agency seeks to challenge the standards that condition practice and to develop new conventions and better environments more closely linked to the way an increasingly diverse Montreal population lives today and hopes to live together tomorrow.

Images: Adrien Williams

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