La maison de la Pointe originally was a small summer cottage built right at the water’s edge. Its site, a vast rectangular wooded lot, extending into Lake Memphremagog at its western tip. A modest construction dating from the first half of the 20th century, it is a witness to a bygone era of summer vacations spent with family in a small rustic chalet by the water. Over the years, the shores of the lake have transformed to accommodate large secondary homes that cater to a changing lifestyle, one where people no longer leave the city only for long summer vacations, but rather every weekend to enjoy nature, the lake, and the nearby ski mountains.
The small wooden cabin at the point, built over time with a rustic touch and not winterized, no longer meets the needs of its new owners, who desire a spacious secondary home capable of hosting family and friends year-round. What to do, expand the house or build a new one? This question became the foundation for the project's reflection. Expanding a pavilion always slightly alters its character. Demolishing and rebuilding from scratch erases the heritage and continues a consumption pattern that no longer seems acceptable.
Rebuilding from scratch would also mean applying the 25-meter setback rule from the lake for new constructions, which would cause the House of the Point to lose its unique character as a retreat in nature at the water's edge. To preserve the pavilion's character, the existing building will not be directly expanded, but a new pavilion, set back from the original, will be constructed. A fully glazed passageway, 12 meters long, is designed to connect the two pavilions.
The House of the Point is now made up of two semi-autonomous pavilions: The first, facing the lake, is the original cabin, whose general pavilion form under a gable roof has been preserved without major changes. It remains the lakeside pavilion, the main house, where the master bedroom and living spaces are located. The second is the new pavilion, a compact volume built into the slope of the land. It serves as the pavilion for the older children and guests, with bedrooms, a living room, a study, a garage, and technical spaces.
This fragmentation of the project into two pavilions provides the owners with an intimate, small-scale residence for short stays, while also allowing for the accommodation of children and friends during longer visits. The cedar shingle, which clads both the walls and roof of the existing building, is retained as the main material for the project. Both pavilions, old and new, are dressed in it, unifying the two parts—modern and traditional. While the exterior volume of the lakeside pavilion has been preserved almost intact, its interior has been completely revamped.
The old spatial distribution, characterized by a series of small, low-ceilinged spaces, has been completely reorganized. The attic floor has been removed to open up a vast volume under the gable roof, with large windows looking out over the lake and wooded grounds. The motif of arched windows, which previously defined the existing veranda, has been applied to all openings, as well as to the geometry of the different gable ceilings. The once pieced-together, makeshift cabin now offers a spacious interior with a flexible geometry, where natural light flows in a gentle gradient throughout the day and across the seasons.
The new pavilion, serving as the main entrance, is set into the slope of the site. It is designed to be as compact as possible, with spaces that do not require natural light placed underground, reducing the size of the new structure so it does not overpower the original pavilion. The project thus creates a balance and dialogue between two pavilions of similar scale and materiality, yet with different architectural compositions and expressions. It is the design of a single house, yet one that shapes distinct atmospheres in each pavilion.
The long glass walkway connecting the two buildings is mostly elevated so as not to obstruct movement around the site. It is a link, but not an obstacle. It is a straight line drawn from the new house to the old one, capped at its end by a sculptural spiral staircase leading to the heart of the lakeside pavilion. It is a line drawn between the old and the new, between a Cartesian geometry and a more fluid one. La maison de la Pointe is now the expression of a contemporary architecture built on a heritage that we no longer wish to forget.
