Pied-de-vent Residence is a minimalist house located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada, designed by APPAREIL Architecture. Through strategically placed skylights and carefully considered openings, Appareil Architecture has transformed a generic catalog home into what owner Mélanie describes as a space where “sunlight finds its way into every room of the house at all hours of the day.” This luminous quality – captured in the project’s poetic name “Pied-de-vent,” evoking rays breaking through clouds – reveals how contemporary residential design can transcend mere renovation to achieve something approaching alchemy.
The project’s most profound gesture lies not in what was added, but in what was reimagined. By relocating the central staircase to the front of the house, the architects liberated the ground floor’s living spaces, creating what interior designer Esther Leduc calls “an open plan where living areas flow into each other and benefit from abundant natural light.” This seemingly simple move echoes the mid-century modern tradition of dissolving boundaries between interior and exterior, yet achieves it through subtraction rather than grand gestures.
The material palette speaks to a distinctly contemporary sensibility – natural tones and mineral textures in floor tiles create what the owners sought: “a simple, airy, soft, and light-filled environment.” These choices reflect a broader cultural shift toward wellness-focused design, where the home becomes a refuge from an increasingly complex world. The custom millwork, from the storage cabinet woven into the staircase to the built-in headboard, demonstrates how integrated furniture can create spatial harmony without sacrificing functionality.
The exterior transformation, with its wooden slats of varying widths, reveals sophisticated thinking about proportion and texture. By visually distinguishing the new garage from the original house, the cladding system creates hierarchy while maintaining unity – a technique that recalls the work of Peter Zumthor in its attention to material rhythm and visual weight.
