LeJeune Residence / MXMA Architecture & Design

Architects: MXMA Architecture & Design
Area: 77 m²
Year: 2014
Photography: Andrien Williams
Lead Architects: Maxime Moreau
Project Team: Adam Robinson, Dany Durand-Courchesne, Eric Engdahl
Interior Designs: Christian Bélanger Design
Engineering: Delfort
City: Montreal
Country: Canada

The LeJeune Residence, located in the Plateau-Mont-Royal Borough of Montreal, was transformed by MXMA Architecture & Design in 2013 and completed in 2014. Originally built in 1890, the renovation balanced municipal constraints with the clients’ desire for a contemporary design. The project integrates sustainable elements with a minimalist aesthetic, reflecting the clients’ interest and lifestyle.

Lejeune residence / mxma architecture & design

The LeJeune Residence, situated in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal Borough, dates back to 1890. Its transformation in 2013 involved navigating municipal constraints and the clients’ vision for contemporary projects. The borough required preserving and reconstructing the facade’s original architectural components, while the client sought a modern design. Architectural Open Form resolved these demands with a solution that satisfies both.

The clients, professionals with a keen interest in photography, art, and architecture, had modernized previous homes themselves but sought an architect for the LeJeune Residence to achieve a design that mirrored their minimalist lifestyle.

In 2012, they sold their suburban home to return to Montreal’s creative neighborhood, purchasing a duplex originally used for housing grooms for horses and carriages. They aimed to transform the deteriorating building into a single-family residence with open living spaces, flexible room use, and an interior connected to an exterior garden.

The exterior walls, including the façade, were covered with metal cladding in the mid-20th century. The borough required restoring the façade’s original wood siding, wooden cornice, and solid pine windows with wood moldings.

Architect Maxime Moreau sought to merge the facade’s historical evolution with a bold, modern architectural language. Moreau treated the facade as an experimental canvas, restoring and staining its original components with a black hue reminiscent of avant-garde art. This approach balanced the borough’s preservation requirements with the owners’ adventurous preferences. The monochrome facade suggested a fresh start, symbolizing a new beginning for both the building and its owners.

During the day, the black stain obscures the facade’s details, highlighting its basic forms. Mosquito screens create a timeless effect with varying shades of black, concealing the ancestral windows. At night, the building transforms into a historic house, with interior lights illuminating the windows divisions and exterior lighting showcasing the facade’s clapboard and cornice ornamentation.

The small size of the LeJeune Residence, only 77 m², required careful optimization of interior spaces. The owner wanted open living spaces on the ground floor and a seamless interaction with the backyard. Their wish to “live outside” during warmer seasons led to extending the interior living spaces onto a terrace, designed with the same attention to comfort and quality as the home’s interior.

The distinction between inside and outside is subtle. The rear exterior wall of the living room opens entirely through a 13-foot-wide, floor-to-ceiling sliding door. In summer, living room furniture is moved outside to the terrace, creating a natural extension of the living space. This design allows the owners to enjoy outdoor living as much as possible. Even in colder seasons, the fireplace and garden can be enjoyed from both inside and outside, blurring the boundaries between them.

The optimization of living space supported the architect in fulfilling the clients’ desire for a unique and minimalist lifestyle. Spaces and furniture serve untraditional functions. Instead of a typical dining room, an open area between the kitchen, living room, and terrace features furniture tailored to the occupants’ needs. They usually eat at the kitchen island but can also use a low coffee table that folds and rises to form a traditional dining table.

Functional space flexibility and simple furnishing make it easy to move the dining area outside during summer. The contemporary white furniture contrasts with the wood terrace, featuring a long bench, concealed lighting, and a privacy fence.

The two-storey entrance vestibule, lit by a suspended art piece doubling as a light fixture, welcomes visitors and provides an illusion of grandeur. The black library contrasts the transition between the entrance and living areas. Built-in furniture structures the spaces, connecting functions coherently. The materials and colors of the furniture define different areas, enhancing the sense of grandeur and fluidity.

Wise lighting is crucial in good design, especially in small spaces. The absence of physical boundaries between functions increases the living space and accommodates the dynamic lifestyle of its occupants. Various fixed and movable lighting fixtures on the ceiling and walls create multiple lighting ambiances, adjustable according to space use and occupants’ mood and comfort. These ambiances range from full illumination for work to soft lighting for relaxation.

In this minimalist space with little decoration, Architecture Open Form has created a complete space meeting the owners’ various needs, inviting serenity and inner peace. The simplicity of the space does not limit the quality and comfort of the home. The minimalist, understated furniture aligns with the users’ lifestyle.