Architect | Natalie Dionne Architecte |
Location | Montréal, Canada |
Area | 300m2 (3229 sq.ft.) |
Photographs | Marc Cramer |
The E3 House gets its name because Natalie Dionne Architecte, the husband-and-wife team of Natalie Dionne and Martin Laneuville, organized the design in cross-section, using a strategy that recalls modernist Viennese architect Adolf Loos’s influential Raumplan, with its staggered rooms and fluid transitions between floors
David Theodore, azure magazine, June 2012
The E3 House was designed for a family with deep attachment to the area; a bustling neighbourhood close to the popular Jean-Talon Market in Montreal.
The design of a multi-level house is inspired by the orientation of the plot, in order to enable natural light to penetrate. The 12-metre-high central atrium divides the house into two areas, front and back; with a staircase linking different levels, and topped with a skylight.
Abundance of natural light that reaches deep into the interior through the large windows on both ends of the house and the central skylight to create ever-changing plays of natural light and shadow. The windows feature large wooden shutters slide to filter light at dawn and sunset and protect the house from summer heat. For natural ventilation, the windows faces each other and open, including the skylight.
The bedrooms are separated by sliding doors opening to the central space, allowing more light to enter and the illusion of a much bigger space. Closing the door will withdraw the space, allowing for privacy.
The project includes a mix of materials with simple, repetitive colours; mainly polished concrete, natural steel, wood and blue tiles. The interplay of these materials creates stunning graphical compositions that resemble abstract paintings. The central staircase and the kitchen island both feature steel and walnut. Cabinets, wardrobes and storage spaces are all made with maple-veneer plywood, and are vertically arranged to create multi-functional, multi-level monoliths. Marine-grade plywood stained to a dark espresso colour lines the walls and ceilings of large alcove to mark both front and back entrances.