Tucked away in the heart of Plateau Mont-Royal, on the private lot of a former commercial building, are these Siamese residences. Each co-property occupies half of the lot; their entrances are, respectively, on Mentana and Boyer streets.

The project’s constraints are those of the classic urban context: the envelopes of neighbouring buildings, joint use, and the challenge of natural light.

The architectural scheme optimized the layout to take advantage of the shape of the lot. To take advantage of its depth, the structure covered the entire area. Two inner courtyards were carved out, favouring penetration of natural light while offering high-quality private spaces.

The interior is organized on three levels. Living spaces occupy the top floor, offering an unpartitioned space that is completely glazed around the building’s central well. The façade reveals the articulation of the yards and terraces only through the breach on the top floor.

The original limited size of the lot led to new architectural reflection on urban space. The Siamoises offer two forms of luxury: an island of light and private space, centrally located in one of the city’s most popular neighbourhoods.

Technical sheet

Offical name of the project : Siamoises Mentana-Boyer

Location : Montreal, Québec, Canada

Client  name : Confidential

Architects : Blouin Tardif Architecture Environnement

Head of the projet : Alexandre Blouin

Design team :  Isabelle Beauchamp, Jonathan Trottier

Electricity/mechanical engineering : Calculatec

Project surface area : 250 m2 per residence

Project finalisation date : 2013

Photographer : Steve Montpetit

Blouin Tardif Architecture-Environnement

Established in 2004, the firm excels in the design of sustainable buildings developed around the principles of Durability, Performance and Aesthetics. The workshop relies on a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineer, sustainable design specialist and LEED Project Manager. All projects are undertaken using the integrated design method. The result is the best integrated solution coming out of integrated design sessions involving the professionals from every field of practice.

We are a Canadian Leader in LEED certified buildings and LEED project management and we have worked with some of the biggest corporations in Canada such as First Capital Asset Management, Sobeys, Cascades, Rona, Smart Centres, etc.

The quality of the firm’s work has been recognized numerous times by diverse nominations and prizes from the Québec Order of Architects, ASHRAE, Design-Build Institute and Grands Prix de Design.