Esquisse Rapide $2,400
- Site visit and napkin session
- One concept, hand-drawn
- Two weeks, start to finish
p.1 · october
Every building
starts as a doodle.
We are Esquisse, a small Montréal studio that designs houses, studios, and pavilions the slow way: pencil first, watercolor second, blueprints only when the idea has earned them.
← this page is still wet
turn the page ↓page 12 · march
Maison Brume
A lakeside cabin in the Laurentians. One long window, one wood stove, zero hallways.
↳ client cried a little. good sign.
page 27 · may
Atelier Lumen
A painter's studio with a curved north wall that catches soft light all day. The roof lifts like a held breath.
↳ north light = free lighting design
page 41 · july
Serre Urbaine
A rooftop greenhouse for a Mile End café. Tomatoes upstairs, espresso downstairs, everybody happy.
↳ permit took 4 months. worth it.
page 58 · built 2025
Pavillon Cèdre
A cedar reading pavilion for a public garden. Smells like a pencil box, seats twelve daydreamers.
↳ this one left the sketchbook!
p.73 · how it works
Napkin to blueprint
The Napkin
We walk your site with a pencil and no agenda. By coffee number two, the first lines appear. Ugly, honest, full of promise.
The Doodle Wall
One week, one hundred thumbnails pinned to the studio wall. We keep the three that make us grin and recycle the rest.
The Watercolor
Massing, light, and material studies in pale washes. You see how morning sun will actually land on your kitchen table.
The Blueprint
Only now does CAD enter the room. Permit-ready drawings, faithful to the sketch that started it all.
we erase a lot. we are proud of it.
p.81 · pinned notes
"They showed up with watercolors instead of renders. Six months later we moved into the sketch."
a Maison Brume client
"A straight line is a decision you made too fast. We erase a lot, and we are proud of it."
studio rule nº 4
"The pavilion leaks a little when it rains sideways. We love it anyway. It was drawn in the rain."
the garden committee
p.90 · pick a pencil
Pick a pencil
Concept Complet $6,800
- Three concepts to choose from
- Watercolor renders and massing model
- Light studies for every season
- Cost estimate with a builder
Bâtiment Signature $14,500
- Everything in Concept Complet
- Permit-ready drawing set
- Site visits during construction
p.99 · last page
Bring us a napkin.
A photo of a napkin sketch counts. So does a sentence. Tell us what you are dreaming of and we will bring pencils.
← we reply with a sketch, not a quote
Esquisse Studio · 4810 boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal · (514) 555-0132