In a small Canadian town on the banks of Lake Huron, this summer house extends the possibility of a traditional lakeside family retreat with a contemporary architectural approach. Designed by Cape Town-based architecture firm SAOTA, the design harnesses recent developments in design, technology, and sustainability while maintaining a sensitive and meaningful connection to the beautiful natural surroundings.
The site is a bluff occupying the transitional space between water and forest, rising 3.5m from road level, and then dropping towards the water to create a grassy embankment. On approach, the house is largely concealed by surrounding fir trees, and appears as a simple light-coloured stone box floating between the tree trunks. The exterior façade material is a ceramic panelled system, which is robust and hard-wearing enough for the extreme Canadian climate.
To the rear of the house, which faces Lake Huron, dissolves into a two-storey wall of glass washing natural light deep into the building’s interior. Programatically, the interior spaces are fluid and easy to navigate with a simple and well-structured layout for a casual atmosphere.
Upon entry, a dramatic triple-volume atrium lets in natural light and draws the eye outwards towards the view. From here, the vast central volume subtly contrasts with more intimate and contained volumes in the kitchen and other living spaces for a varied and articulated spatial experience.
The upper-level is devoted entirely to the owners’ private space, including the master bedroom, an office and a gym. To the front of the house, a covered outdoor entertainment area flanks a swimming pool. A boardwalk and staircase descend to a refurbished cabin that predated the house, and now houses a guest suite and additional outdoor entertainment area to facilitate long summer days playing on the lake.
The lowest floor serves as the ‘engine room’ of the houses, accommodating all of its building services infrastructure. This includes a commercial-grade Building Automation System (BAS), which controls and monitors the home, as well as a 15kw solar array, which provides power to the home.
Excess power is regularly fed back into the utility grid for credit and later use. The limited municipal infrastructure for stormwater and sewer resulted in an on-property underground stormwater system that can handle a 100-year storm and an eco-flo septic system to deal with all sewer requirements on site.
