Driven by their extensive travels, the owners of this residence located in the Ville-Marie neighborhood of Montreal sought to recreate the serenity of an Oriental garden in their own backyard. Our mandate, in collaboration with the architectural firm L. McComber, is to minimize their human footprint in the courtyard as much as possible. Consequently, the aim is to transform it into a lush garden or even an urban forest in this densely populated area.

To mitigate the visual impact of surrounding structures, particularly from the balcony, a tree planting scheme and the architectural integration of vertical corten steel panels have been proposed to create an intimate sanctuary for the owners. These two elements combined introduce an aesthetic contrast between the green foliage of the planting and the rust-colored corten steel.

Native planting, a slate pathway, the reuse of a wooden door and existing slabs, the almost exclusive use of noble and natural materials (no prefabricated elements), and a green parking area paved with vegetated cellular pavers all contribute to making this project an oasis of peace and biodiversity in a vibrant neighborhood.