ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Inhabitable Sculpture in Montreal, Canada By Jean-Maxime LabrecqueNovember 29th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Jean-Maxime Labrecque The “inhabitable sculpture” project, which received two awards at the Grands prix du design 2011, is the result of four years of work executed by numerous fabrication and installation teams. Two premises were established by the client at the beginning of the project: “a space that people will find cold” and “living in an art gallery.” All designers hope, sooner or later, to obtain such a commission, which enables them to avoid subjecting their work to the obvious sacrosanct “warmth” obtained through wood.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard
 Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard In response to the owner’s request, the space was emptied of what the developers of the housing project had planned for her small 800-square-foot housing unit. Once the space was reduced to its original industrial concrete walls, floors, and ceilings, a delicate multifunctional sculptural piece of furniture made of raw aluminum, inspired by Donald Judd’s work, was installed. Its combined modules fulfil all of the dwelling’s functions: bed, walk-in closet, bookshelf, sofa, counter, stools, kitchen, and storage.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard A special attribute of this complex object is a room within the room generated by a system of suspended sliding doors attached only at the top. The resulting “corridor of arches” gives access to the walk-in closet.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard Two other interventions complete the main area’s aluminum functional sculpture. A technical glass block contains appliances, storage, and the water heater, and an old concrete vault houses the bathroom. Although small in size (10′ x 10′), the bathroom is entirely finished in black. The full-height and -width mirrors on one of its walls create a surprising sensation of “absorbed vastness.”  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard This project, designed in 2007 but completed in 2011, catalyzed the development of a furniture collection that Jean-Maxime Labrecque has had underway for 10 years. All of the architect’s projects are composed exclusively of custom-made furniture.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard Jean-Maxime Labrecque Architect Architect Jean-Maxime Labrecque began his professional career with a series of six exhibition design commissions in Europe, including his main accomplishment to date, the Archeoforum in Liège, Belgium (2003). The project consists of an underground museographic journey through the 33,000 square feet of the vestiges of a 10th century cathedral, covered since the 1960s by a modern public square. At the end of 2008, he spent two months in New Delhi, India, to review the design of two large buildings for a new city. For nearly 10 years, he has been working on the architectural and interior designs of the future Charlie Chaplin Museum in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. In Quebec, his native province, he completed about 15 residential and commercial projects, in addition to exhibit design commissions for the City of Montréal.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard In conjunction with his professional practice, he undertakes visual art and photography projects. He is currently completing a collection of furniture for which the first prototypes have been unveiled in the fall of 2012. Finally, also noteworthy are two articles written for Standard, a Parisian magazine. One of them was on the CCTV and the other was on the Maison de Bordeaux, two OMA/Rem Koolhaas projects.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard A dozen of his projects won awards at various contests on ideas in architecture, interior design and graphic design. In December 2011, his Inhabitable sculpture project won two prizes, including a jury special award.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard As the architect is convinced that classical modernism can still provide solutions to bring balance and harmony back to today’s overloaded chaotic world, his projects are based on simple and clear principles.  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard  Image Courtesy Frédéric Bouchard
Contact Jean-Maxime Labrecque
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
