THEN-AND-NOW Split-level shines after challenging build
Rising from the ashes THE KING EDWARD RESIDENCE is located in the town of Côte Saint-Luc, Que., on the island of Montreal. The home is seated on King-Edward Street where “split-level” typology abounds, typical of 1950s houses when the street was developed. It is one such residence that stood on this site before a fire ravaged it. Its owners, a young couple, had chosen it among several others because it met their programmatic needs and their preferred layout. Mandated to replace it, Atelier Schwimmer, a Montreal-based design and architectural firm, proposed a new form rooted both in a reinterpretation of the split-level typology while reconsidering the house insertion to the lot. Design principal Felix Schwimmer, along with Atelier Schwimmer associates Georgia Cardosi and Francesca Fiaschi, tackled the challenge of a property that was so destroyed, even the foundation was compromised. “Because the fire was in the basement, the structural engineer decided it was better to just start from scratch. In the 1950s, not every contractor prepared good concrete,” says Schwimmer. The back split orientation has the ground floor as you enter the home for the grown-up spaces and the baseFront and rear views of Atelier Schwimmer’s 21st century split-level show box components. ment for the children, according to Schwimmer. “In the back we have the half level down, which goes to the family room for kids, and then we have a half level up, which is the family room for the adults.” The concrete slab floors were handled by an expert who has developed a technique that creates “a really nice polish,” says Schwimmer. The process involves smoothing the surface twice when it is wet and three times when dry 28
January/February 2021
Keyhole view to the backyard: Atelier Schwimmer and the homeowners wanted to demarcate areas of the house into “adult” and “child.” Here, cherry floors provide the pathway from the grown-ups’ main floor to the kids’ zone downstairs.
to provide a matte finish. The concrete floors are also insulated and heated for consistent comfort across the two levels. Upstairs living quarters are wall-to-wall cherry wood chosen be Atelier Schwimmer to provide a warm contrast to all of the concrete. The homeowners chose their own bathroom tiles. The new house is made of rectangular boxes stacked in a way to create a large accommodating backyard, in opposition to the previous house — a cube in the middle of the lot that hindered the side courts and resulted in a small backyard. Viewed from above, those new boxes make a U-shape house shielding from the southern neighbour, a 10-storey “brutalist” style building. The black metal cladded garage box is recessed from the front facade, creating a loggia entrance; it sits perpendicular to the
