new life for an early 20th-century factory in montreal
FOIL Gallery, a hybrid art gallery and café, has opened inside two former factory buildings in Montreal‘s Mile-Ex, a pocket of the city shared by repair shops, coffee counters, artist studios, and small tech outfits. The area is lowkey and industrial. Its atmosphere defines the space’s century-old brick building which has been renovated by locally-based architecture office Atelier L’Abri after a long period of vacancy.
The early 20th-century factory was once used by Canadian Explosives Limited, and was shaped by heavy labour for wartime production. Inside, the sawtooth roof and its clerestory windows are supported by a complex system of timber trusses, now interwoven with exposed systems.
images © Alex Lesage
atelier l’abri honors industrial montreal
In its renovation for FOIL Gallery, the architects at Atelier L’Abri approached the building lightly. Paint was removed from timber and concrete until the surfaces regained their depth. The floor kept its cracks and stains, a record of use that felt right to preserve. Instead of forcing a new identity, the design lets the building speak in its original tone.
Fresh skylights reinstate daylight across the sawtooth roof profile. The effect is quiet but direct — light drops in from above, highlighting the span of the trusses and the muted texture of the exposed materials. The volume feels airier, though the architecture stays grounded in its industrial frame.
FOIL Gallery can be discovered in Montreal’s industrial Mile-Ex neighborhood
minimalist interiors for foil gallery
At the center of Montreal’s FOIL Gallery sits a brushed metal cube, which hold private rooms and shapes how visitors move through the interior. It reads as a clean, self-contained insertion, confident enough to be present without overshadowing the original structure.
White acoustic walls line the perimeter, offering consistent surfaces for exhibitions and anchoring the gallery’s visual field. Their simplicity heightens the dialogue between restored industrial elements and the precise, almost understated new intervention.
Toward the front, the café opens to Parc des Gorilles through a full-height glass garage door, letting the street fold directly into the interior. The curved microcement counter introduces a softer note into the space, a subtle shift in temperature against the raw concrete and sandblasted timber. Custom furniture pieces by Montreal designer Raymond Raymond give the café area a utilitarian warmth.
the restored sawtooth roof floods interiors with ambient sunlight
a brushed metal cube is built in the center of the space
the café opens directly to Parc des Gorilles through a glass garage door
white acoustic walls offer clear surfaces for contemporary art
new skylights return daylight to the long dormant factory building
Atelier L’Abri reveals the buildings timber and concrete structure with restraint
project info:
name: FOIL Gallery | @foil.gallery
location: Montreal, Canada
architect: Atelier L’Abri | @atelierlabri
client: Fvckrender, Baeige
team: Jade Lachapelle, Keyan Ye, Pia Hocheneder, Stefania Praf, Nicolas Lapierre, Francis Martel-Labrecque
contractor: Construction Modulor
area: 350 square meters (3,770 square feet)
completion: 2025
photography: © Alex Lesage | @alexlesage__
The post FOIL gallery: industrial montreal warehouse renovated to become hybrid art space and café appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.