In a rapidly evolving urban context, converting a former industrial district into a residential neighborhood is among the most sensitive challenges architects face. Too often, new buildings erase the traces of the past, instead of building upon them. Vivre 2 takes an entirely different approach—an exemplary project that demonstrates how housing can be integrated into a post-industrial fabric in a way that not only preserves the site’s unique spirit, but reveals it with strength and coherence.
Located in the Atlantic sector of the Outremont borough in Montreal, behind the new Université de Montréal campus, this residential project occupies a site within a district that had long been enclosed and dedicated to industrial use. The recent creation of Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux Street has reconnected the area to the city, opening it up to new possibilities. Designed by ACDF Architecture, Vivre 2 continues the transformation initiated with Vivre 1—also designed by ACDF—which stands nearby.
Far from reproducing a standard residential model, Vivre 2 draws inspiration from the district’s industrial character—its materiality, scale, and typologies—to produce an architecture that is at once powerful, articulated, and deeply rooted in its context.
"The reconversion of such a sector should never be a blank page, but rather a dialogue between the before and the after," explains Maxime Frappier, the project’s lead architect. "It’s about listening to the soul of the place—its history, its scale, its textures—and understanding what makes it unique. Only then can we add a new building that is coherent with this identity, enriching the genius loci, rather than diluting it.”
A reinterpreted industrial framework
The building’s massing, straightforward yet refined, recalls the former warehouses that once defined the area. Yet, this presence is enlivened by a subtle fragmentation that lends the whole a distinctly contemporary dynamic. A diagonal fragmentation, accentuated by glass guardrails, climbs one of the main façades from the ground floor—where the lobby and a commercial space are located—up to the top floors. This gesture, both delicate and structural, breaks up the monolithic whole, without diminishing its unity.
"We wanted to inject air into the mass—an architectural breath that structures without weighing it down,” notes Frappier.
The choice of materials reflects the same desire for continuity and reinterpretation. Two shades of clay brick are used: one highlights the building’s structural grid, echoing the old concrete frames or the pragmatic brick industrial buildings of the area; the other fills the intervals. This play of contrasts recalls traditional industrial façades, while offering a resolutely contemporary reading.
The street-facing façades embody the architects’ intent to respond in a way that resonates with the district’s industrial character: restrained materiality, a clearly defined grid, and a confident volume. In contrast, the façade overlooking the alley is more dynamic, expressing a deliberate intent to prompt the reappropriation of these neglected spaces, transforming them into shared, more permeable, and more human places.
Reclaiming the alley as a living space
This intent to reactivate the alley is also reflected in the programmatic layout. Instead of relegating common areas to the roof in the form of an urban chalet, ACDF positioned them at ground level along the alley. This decision strengthens community life, enhances safety, and animates the public realm. It extends the approach initiated with Vivre 1 and offers a more participatory model of urban living, one that is closely connected to its immediate surroundings.
“In a sector that has lost its industrial vocation, alleys become places of opportunity—spaces in transition that deserve to be infused with life, not just service functions,” says Frappier.
Vivre 2 is a compelling example of how housing can be integrated into a distinctive urban fabric, combining reconversion and densification without betraying history or compromising architectural quality. Through its siting, materiality, expression, and relationship to the ground, it offers a coherent model for rethinking the transformation of our urban environments—with intelligence, balance, and sensitivity.
