The renovation of Sutton Home in Sutton, Québec by Pelletier de Fontenay doesn’t simply protect historical past – it transmutes it by its use of white cementitious coating, turning what was as soon as a disparate assortment of additives right into a unified sculptural presence within the panorama. Slightly than following the traditional preservation playbook of emphasizing materials contrasts between previous and new, the architects developed customized white mineral finishes that unify the constructing’s a number of iterations whereas permitting the underlying textures to stay legible. This strategy creates a palimpsest impact – the place, like an historical manuscript that has been written over, the unique textual content nonetheless reveals by.
The choice to make use of hemp insulation – a bio-sourced materials identified for its breathability and humidity management – represents a wedding of conventional constructing methods with modern environmental consciousness. This strategy extends to the inside, the place a sconce product of repurposed timber from the unique construction serves as each useful lighting and a testomony to the constructing’s historical past. The addition’s deep partitions and thick roof echo the primitive heaviness of the unique construction, whereas three distinct blocks body views of the panorama.
The home employs passive methods that might have been acquainted to the unique builders – thermal mass, pure air flow, photo voltaic orientation – however updates them with modern know-how. The limestone flooring sourced from native quarries serves twin functions – it connects the constructing to its regional context whereas performing as thermal mass for passive photo voltaic heating.
The designers develop by saying: “The stepped configuration of the bottom ground additionally helped decrease the constructing’s general footprint, whereas making a pure airflow between the areas in direction of the higher stage. In the summertime, this helps to naturally ventilate the widespread areas, whereas in winter, the nice and cozy air is captured and redistributed by the home through the high-efficiency warmth restoration mechanical system.”
Images by James Brittain.
