Grace Dart

The architectural intervention aims to enhance the existing building, which holds exceptional heritage value, by preserving its original alignments and keeping the 1930s envelope intact. Only the windows were replaced, and the brick joints were restored. Inheriting the width of a former agricultural strip, the site plan takes advantage of the property's exceptional expanse through its formal composition, extensive footprint, and layout strategy.

The massing of the new building, shaped like an alcove, frames the existing structures on the site. The understated treatment of this rental building's façades highlights its protruding proportions: the ground floor and top-floor walls are set back in relation to the rest of the building. The red brick cladding chosen by the firm reinterprets the characteristic use of this material in the original construction, creating a subtle dialogue between old and new. The framework that organizes the various pedestrian paths provides direct access to both the local and arterial circulation networks. The design promotes community access to green spaces. This circulation network connects directly to the main entrances of the different residential volumes.