BERLIOZ | Alain Carle

Berlioz Apartment - Ile des Sœurs/Nuns’ Island

Located in one of the towers of “Verrières sur le Fleuve”, designed by architect Jean-Claude Lachance in 1982, this apartment renovation was an opportunity to promote the specificity of these residential locations, which offer unique views of the city.

Paradoxically, the space was very complex and offered few relationships with the monumental landscape before it, as if it were turning away.

All of the partitions that fragmented the view were cleared, giving way to a kind of angular façade, such as a screen revealing the outdoor panorama. To alleviate its presence at night, the contours of the perimeter were “blackened” to make it disappear in the darkness of the nighttime landscape, giving way to the sparkling lights of the neighbouring building, the streets and the bridges spanning the river. In continuity with this gesture, the kitchen is redesigned all in black and fades into the space like a shadow, redirecting the look to the other living areas of this space, now entirely cleared.

The angles have given way to more fluid curves, facilitating the occupants’ movements in the space. The material is noble and contrasting, even abutting the structural components of the rough concrete building with cashew bookshelves.