Located in the Laurentians, this residence was designed for a family seeking refuge from the everyday hustle, opting for a discreet architecture that blends seamlessly into its natural surroundings.
Nestled within dense vegetation on a rugged site, the home gradually reveals itself from the access road through an immersive sequence marked by slowness and anticipation. Its balanced composition demonstrates a deep sensitivity to the topography and to the way the building engages with the landscape. The siting carefully minimized deforestation, preserving the existing ecosystem and allowing the architecture to harmonize rather than dominate.

Reinterpreting Quebec’s vernacular architecture, the design draws inspiration from the archetype of the traditional house: a simple gable roof atop a rectangular volume. Here, the form is divided into three entities, framing two clear openings towards the lake. The restrained material palette amplifies the building’s quiet simplicity and timeless character.

A first gap between the garage and main entrance creates a sheltered passageway, offering a fleeting glimpse of the water below. Inside, a peripheral circulation axis encourages fluid movement throughout the house. As the residence unfolds, openings expand in scale, gradually dissolving the boundary between indoors and outdoors until the common areas flow into the covered terrace of the third volume. The placement of the fireplace acts as a mediator—tempering the activity of the kitchen and dining room while preserving the tranquility of the living room. This intuitive spatial organization reflects a delicate attention to both function and atmosphere. Warmth and contextual anchoring are reinforced by the wooden ceilings, while every constructive gesture seeks not to impose itself, but to heighten the presence of the surrounding landscape. The architecture deliberately recedes to better reveal nature.

In contrast to the openness of the upper floor, the garden level is conceived as a single, more intimate volume dedicated to retreat. Here, darker tones and carefully selected finishes create a cocoon-like atmosphere that inspires calm. Generous openings allow nature to filter into these private spaces, blurring the boundary between inside and out. The choice of materials extends the surrounding landscape, with tones that shift throughout the day—light animates the surfaces, echoing the rhythm of nature in a play of shadow and reflection.