A house is completely reconfigured due to an unexpected event

A new cantilevered box, a balcony and an internal staircase are the new elements that redefine the layout of a private residence in Quebec. Designed by the architecture firm NatureHumaine, the project aimed at responding to the unexpected expansion of the family and the contextual desire to reimagine the domestic space with measured but bold interventions. In addition to the use of materials, the new architectural elements share the same minimalist design and the choice of a color, sage green, which plays a contrasting role with the pre-existing materials and defines a stylistic register based on the contrast between the cleanliness of the monochrome color and roughness of bricks and wooden planks.

The two volumetric extensions change the connotations of the facade, which houses a small balcony on the first floor, and the back facade, where the only internal expansion coincides with the room for Victoria, the newborn. The staircase, instead, imposes itself as a catalytic element, unfolding its sculptural presence in the double-height space. Made of steel and painted wooden panels, the staircase helps to direct the light coming from a skylight towards the open space and the rooms in the basement, while its green tones change according to the variations in light intensity. In the bathroom adjoining the bedroom, on the other hand, the yellow tone gives vigor and energy with the explicit aim of not relegating this room to a mere service corner, but to consider it as an additional place for playing.