Canadian studio La Firme has turned a former industrial space in a Montreal heritage building into a contemporary home.
The local design practice stripped-back a property in a 1820s building, located in the Old Montreal area, to create a loft-like apartment.

Brick walls, pipes and wooden ceiling beams overhead are left exposed as a reflection of the property's historic roots.
Other details are black, white and wood surfaces that provide a minimal touch, and heated polished concrete floors.

"Because our approach was to preserve the space's industrial character by exploiting the textures of the original materials, we began by gutting everything," said La Firme founder Louis Beliveau.
"The result is open and lofty but maintained a sense of privacy."
The apartment, called McGill 120, is left with hardly any walls inside in order to ensure that there is plenty of natural light.
Instead, to create areas of privacy the firm inserted a series of floor-to-ceiling cabinets.

The firm designed a monolithic black volume where the entrance is located, outfitted with bookshelves and closets.
Another black volume acts as a barrier to the master bedroom, and has a fold-down bed so it can easily transition between an office and a guest bedroom.

"Our floorplan optimises available light sources, and the layout of the master bedroom and the office/guest room with murphy bed and bathroom exploits this layout approach," Beliveau said.
A feature of the home is a ...