2024-11-14T21:40:45-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150297695/tba-s-cozy-montreal-home-offers-a-private-space-for-an-art-collecting-family Josh Niland 2022-02-07T14:55:00-05:00 >2024-10-25T04:07:38-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/89/89506aa0200af6ef4732ac0a0ea982b7.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Montreal&rsquo;s <a href="https://archinect.com/T-B-A" target="_blank">Thomas Balaban Architecte (TBA)</a> has returned to a core area of its practice with a new private residence for an art-collecting Quebecois family called the Berri House.&nbsp;</p> <p>Challenged to &ldquo;squeeze as much home as possible&rdquo; out of a 112-year-old 130-square-meter (1,400-square-foot) carriage house located in the city&rsquo;s Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, the small multidisciplinary studio responded with a well-anchored design that effectively balances limited space with the <a href="https://ocpm.qc.ca/sites/ocpm.qc.ca/files/document_consultation/1aen.pdf" target="_blank">mandated</a> local architectural character.&nbsp;</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/2f/2f6f69cb7d9bb328f3bf4e2cde2d9674.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/2f/2f6f69cb7d9bb328f3bf4e2cde2d9674.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Photo: Adrien Williams</figcaption></figure><figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/72/72614d95ee9dfef1700a1291be602eb6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/72/72614d95ee9dfef1700a1291be602eb6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Photo: Adrien Williams</figcaption></figure><p>The solution involved a back-to-basics reset that left only the outline of the existing structure intact. TBA thus created a compact structure connected from top to bottom by a transparent sculptural wireframe staircase meant to allow maximal space and increase circulation at the ground level. A floating extension occupies the second floor, with a third and final story containing everything from a kitchen to coffee station and o...</p>