Press review

The final note of interior design should be one that makes us feel good, or at least better, even in the most difficult times. Situated in 1950’s building, the Alfred Dallaire Memoria funeral home was entirely revamped according to these simple principles: natural light, modernity and hospitality. (…) In the actual salons, there is hardly a trace of the rooms’ main function. They simply make you feel good with their modern and comfortable furniture such as big settees, Le Corbusier sofas, a grand piano and a sound and video projection system. In one of the rooms, the eye is treated to a huge blue painting by Guido Molinari.

The scene inside the stylishly renovated former bank on Boulevard St. Laurent looked like a gallery opening. People milled about with wine glasses as a slide show played in one corner and a videotaped interview in another. Glass display cases held sculpted angels. (…) The gathering was a memorial for Ms Beaulieu-Green, and as a venue her family chose an unusual funeral home that is trying to revolutionize the way people confront the death of a loved one.

This ain't your grandmother's funeral parlour: winner of the jury grand prize three years ago in the Commerce Design Montreal contest, it's sophisticated and streamlined, complete with a catwalk and bar, halogen lights, pivoting glass walls and a removable crucifix on the chapel wall that was designed by an architecture student. "I think the vision 1 had comes from the notion that dying is but part of life," said the 50-year-old Légaré.