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= Microclimate Architecture = Microclimate Architecture is a young group of Canadian architects based in Montreal Quebec. The small firm of 8 employees was established in 2013. Their services include residential design, interior design, commercial design and urban design. The name, Microclimate Architecture, comes from their concept of creating “micro-developments” in the city. Some projects include Hotel de Ville Residence, Multilogement berri and L’école de la côte. Each project, unique in its own way, are similar in their sensitivity to the site and vegetation. Most of the firm's projects reside in restricted, dense and neglected areas in Montreal.

Founders
Guillaume Marcoux and Olivier Lajeunesse-Travers are the founding architects of the firm. Guillaume Marcoux seeks to comprehend the architectural treasures around the world. He explores an approach to the design process that places the users at the centre of the project. Olivier Lajeunesse-Travers came to Montreal to study architecture. His passion for the human scale city drives him to understand the possibilities of inhibition throughout the city of Montreal and explore the constant relationship between architecture and its surrounding environment.

Concept/philosophy
The founders developed the concept of investigating architecture and its environment and the interconnected relationship they share. Each architecture deeply explores the human scale of the design as per Lajeunesse-Travers’ passion. The concept of designing for the human scale is to take the human senses as a starting point. Understanding how people move through a city is essential to this concept. The firm applies this to the design of sustainable architectural solutions through the adaptation of the site context. The architects seek to balance preserving the old urban fabric of Montreal with the new techniques of design. The line of balance with the surrounding neighbourhood’s architecture and the design are seen in multiple of the firm's projects.

Micro-development
The micro-development project came to life to de-clutter the neighbourhoods of old Montreal and create an architecture that is livable and suitable for the families of today. This concept is seen in the residential units designed in the central neighborhoods of Montreal. Each unit is experimenting new ways of inhibition. Inhabitation seeks to re construct the framing of architecture and focusing on the subject position in and of space. The firm seeks to incorporate this concept into changing the underused city sites to a new livable residential unit while using the environment and materials surrounding the site to inform design choices. The goal is to take underused sites and use its full potential to develop a livable urban lifestyle space. Projects are typically located in downtown Montreal Quebec. Most residential are in Montreal and some commercial projects are in the surrounding towns of Saguenay and Waterloo.

Hotel de Ville Residence
This project, located in the Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal, was completed in 2015. The residence was designed for a family new to the city. The re-adaptive approach the team took to the design preserved the home’s original character and large poplar tree in the backyard. The original building was built in 1885. A multi-storey addition was designed between the yard and the existing building. The new addition brings in ample amounts of light to the original building. The small portion the addition takes in the backyard is sensitive to the site. Following the firm's concept, the addition has a fluid transition but is still a sharp contrast from the original building. The addition includes a staircase, winter lounges, mezzanine, and a rooftop terrace. The staircase has been designed to allow for decompartmentalization and reorganization in the original building. The winter lounges overlooking the backyard were designed for a comfortable reading space. The mezzanine is cantilevering over the backyard and a portion of the house, not disturbing the existing architecture. Above the mezzanine is a roof terrace. All design decisions focused on minimal disturbance to the existing building and site. The project also looked at rethinking the way of living in the home and creating a relationship between the site and the old architecture, and the new addition.

Multilogement berri
This project, located in Montreal, was completed in 2018. The owner of the neighboring triplex wanted a new building with four apartment units that would maximize the space provided by the site. This project shows the soft densification strategy through the recovery of the lot that the firm explores. An important aspect to the project was to ensure the continuity of the green belt existing in the heart of the dense area. The surrounding buildings inspired the facade, proportions and dimensions for the building. The materials of the new building, white brick and galvanized steel, contrast the existing surrounding buildings. In the middle of the two buildings are terraces, loggias and a staircase. The staircase connects the two-storey units and accesses the mezzanine overlooking the roof. The various accommodation units have views to the backyard or terraces.

L’école de la côte
This project, located in Saguenay, Québec was designed in 2019. The firm won the competition for the new school. The design incorporates a community architecture that is rooted in the landscape of the region. The school is designed to live in the mountains, the buried architecture highlights the topography of the site in order to create places that makes learning a fun game. The landscape also creates routes to engage the community in the school. In the design of the landscape, a pavilion is created connecting the school to the neighborhood. The landscaping is made of the two pavilions that lead to the main entrance of the school. In the opening in the middle of the pavilions acts as a marker to easily guide you in each direction. It also has a strong visual connection to the middle of the school. Architectural details of the school include, large stairs in the main entrance, gathering spaces, a series of skylights, volumes of classes, courtyards, and individual reading rooms. The classrooms are divided into “three small houses” grouped together by the pavilion. This strategy uses different scales to make the classes more suitable for younger children. As the child grows, the scale of the volumes grows. As this project has lots of emphasis on the landscape and the site the pavilions are accessible from all classrooms.

Awards

 * Prix d’excellence de l’Ordre des architectes du Québec 2019 in the category for Multi-family residential buildings and complexes for the Multilogement berri project.


 * Prix de la relève 2017.


 * Grands Prix du Design in the category of training centre in 2016.