News   Apr 25, 2024
GTA 2024 BILD Award Finalists Announced — and You Can Vote!
 394     0 
News   Apr 25, 2024
Brightwater Resubmission Proposes Increased Density and Height in Port Credit
 1.1K     4 
News   Apr 25, 2024
Wyse Meter Solutions Encouraging Sustainability Through Submetering Technology
 1.1K     0 

Montreal (and housing vernacular)

B

buildup

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
2,208
Reaction score
294
I'll skip the cliches, however valid, about the beauty of Montreal as my lead-in.

I am always amazed at the sheer volume of truly beautiful homes all around the Mount Royal on every side. I understand how the volume of greystone rowhouses appeared in the french areas - they're very fine but essentially cookie cutter.

But the volume and diversity in the stock of free standing homes indicates a depth of architectural talent in Montreal in the first half of the 1900's.

Has anyone heard of some "Montreal School" that may have existed and been unique in some way?

The architecture of post imperial cities is always overwhelming and no surpise talent found its way to places like London, Paris etc. But it seems to me like in a slightly scaled down, more charming fashion, Montreal accomplished something unique.
 
I like the cookie-cutter greystones too.

120060376_14809e4d97.jpg


:)
 
I much prefer Montreal's shoulder-to-shoulder triplex terrace housing over the more semi-detached bay and gables that dot Toronto, but what are you going to do? It's unfair to diss Toronto over an architectural vernacular built over 90 years ago.

That's probably why I get the most frustrated when we build our schlock infill townhomes. We're a big city now and we ought to know better than to build some two-and-a-half story retro-historic pile [of crap]. Some developers, like Streetcar developments and Freed, get the idea and know how to build something between a townhouse more fitting for Stouffville and a 40-storey point tower. Even better, we can "fill in" our existing "West of Bathurst/East of Parliament" residential neighbourhoods with multi-unit low-rise things like these:

roncesvalleslofts.jpg


cube.gif


2_ossington_lofts_toronto.jpg
 
Another thing about the Montreal triplexes like those shown above is the amount of space inside. These places were built for whole families to occupy.
 
I was just in Montreal visiting a friend. He has an apartment at St.Denis and Jean Talon, right beside the market. I will rant about why I wish we had a market like that in a later post (and sorry St. Lawrence doesn't qualify). After I feared for my sons life as I clutched him by the arm while I climbed the most vicious staircase ever my jaw was on the floor. Those places are freaking HUGE!!! I couldn't believe the size of the apartment. 3 bedrooms, the smallest being 14x8 (without a window but what can you do) then it had a huge living room and good sized dining room and the biggest kitchen I have ever been in. I also fell in love with the back patios and the urban socializations that come with it. Too bad Toronto doesn't make em like that!
 
I'll take Toronto's red brick any day though. That grey stone must look pretty uninviting on a grey winter's day. Gorgeous though, to be sure.
 
Hipster Duck said:
That's probably why I get the most frustrated when we build our schlock infill townhomes. We're a big city now and we ought to know better than to build some two-and-a-half story retro-historic pile [of crap].
Click to expand...

You mean like this?

BathurstSB15.jpg


When I see stuff like this, it almost makes me want to become a modernist fan-boy.
 
^Ha ha. Exactly.

Actually, we don't have to look far for inspiration, because there are some great infill townhouses in Toronto, and not all of them need to be modernist. Here's one by Context in East York that I wandered around not too long ago. It should serve as a prototype for all the shlock-builders:

ues_ext8.jpg


ues_ext12.jpg


I noticed that residents have begun to add individual touches, like painting doors different colours or hanging non-regulation mailboxes on their entranceways. The roadway was also delightfully narrow so that these three and four storey houses felt like they towered over you and hemmed you in. It's barely ten years old and it already has the feel of an established neighbourhood.
 
They're at Pape and Mortimer, designed by Wallman Clewes Bergman. Won an Architecture and Urban Design Award of Excellence from the City in 2001.
 
I assume that the block of approximately 10 three storey rowhouses with bowed fronts, on the north side of King between Sumach and Ashby, are also by Clewes. They employ a projecting string course to emphasize the upper floor - a device he used in Mozo, as well as in the Upper East Side townhomes pictured above where it is suggested by a change in brick colour. His strength obviously lies in designing multi-unit towers - aA and Context lead the charge to reclaim that territory - but I think these more conventional low-rise buildings swipe the spirit of earlier styles quite nicely without resorting to copyism.
 
That's a great-looking development, Hipster. I'm sure some would still consider it to be faux schlock.

When I see stuff like this, it almost makes me want to become a modernist fan-boy.
Click to expand...

There's no need to become an extremist. Variety is the spice of life. I'm no fan of Disneyesque faux but I would find a city overly dominated by modernism to be downright depressing.
 
I find a disjunction in this thread btw/the discussion of what's being built now in Toronto and what was being built in Montreal 100 years ago...
 
That's a good point. In Montreal, they are certainly not putting up the same type of buildings as was done 100 years ago. Moreover, pick up the Montreal version of the Condo Guide and one will see quite a few grim faux-looking projects.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top