Think you would do anything for your kids? Well, Montréal-based architecture firm, Naturehumaine has crafted a new athletic house, "In Suspension," the result of their parent-client's ask to transform two levels of a building into a live-in gym for their athletically inclined children, who are now grown adults.

Naturehumaine's primary goal of the re-design was to create a shared living space in which all utilitarian functions are shared but which still allows each person to have privacy. The architectural concept consisted of removing the floor currently separating the two levels to create a wide-open space in which two large boxes appear to float in mid-air. These suspended boxes, adorned with unfinished plywood panels, each contain a bedroom and a bathroom.

This layout configuration creates three gaps, each being two floors high; the center gap becomes a physical exercise room with a pair of gymnastics rings. The whole structure is connected lengthwise by a block that is painted black; the block accommodates different services, including stairways, a shower room and part of the kitchen.

A large island decked in unfinished wood painted white delineates the kitchen space, with sliding lacquered bookshelves underneath the wooden boxes. The space includes all the typical parameters of a home, while comprised many functions of a recreational gym.

Photography by Adrien Williams