Apartment in historic brutalist building becomes an elegant contemporary maze of custom-made structures and unexpected, light solutions. Using the well-established elegance of the very trendy combination between clear-lined design, strong black accents and the purity of the wooden cladding and furniture the Canadian design studio Rainville Sangaré carried on the renovation of this apartment located in a mid-century building, an iconic part of the architectural history.
The apartment’s original layout features two T-laid concrete boxes – the so-called Unit 622 part of the Moshe Safdie’s famous brutalist Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada. The Israeli-Canadian architect Safdie’s design is considered an example of brutalist architecture from the 1960-70th and renovating one of this structures for a new family requires inspired approach towards the architectural shell history and careful consideration of contemporary standards of comfort and style.
The designers had chosen interesting and playful approach towards designing the public and privet premises of the apartment. One of the Т-laid concrete boxes hosts and open layout kitchen, dining room, and living room arrangements – carried out in stylish contemporary design combination. Relaying on a beautiful custom-made black structure, the kitchen unit exudes purity and elegant minimalism of material and color choices. Simple, elegant and contemporary the furniture silhouettes adorn the public premises. A concrete wall at the juncture between the two volumes is left untouched, still carrying the colorful markings from the original complex construct – introducing an artistic bow towards the buildings historical value.
The privet wing hosts the master and guests bedrooms with their bathroom premises – and here is where it gets intriguing and colorful. Trendy vertical concrete tiles connect the premises with the spirit of the building. Fronted by a dichroic glass, which shimmers with different bright hues, the shower stows introduce whimsical and playful touch. The modernly shaped sinks and other bathroom appliances, in strong colors, add to the bright, colorful reflections created by the glass partitions.
The traces of mid century brutalist in the architecture are entwined with contemporary flexibility and custom-made structures (like the black metal framed library in the living room or the wooden one in the bedroom).This creates a well-balanced ambiance that exudes specific modern spirit and elegant, rich in textures, design arrangement. Signature design elements like the folded black lamps by Rainville Sangaré, the picturesque contour- framed panoramic window, overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, or artwork of local artist James Kennedy add to the specific charm of this contemporary apartment.
