The sinuous shape of the house designed by Paul Bernier is subordinated to the pre-existing natural existences and the optimization of the views to the lake and forest. Its surface is uniformly covered with cedar slats and glass sheets, which are located where a given view is wanted to be enhanced . The combination of the low and elongated shape of the house with its meanders and wooden covering allows to obtain a architecture related the place where it lays, whithout whom the project can not be understood.
The interior is conceived as a more abstract space: polished surfaces of uniform colors create suggestive shapes that can be used as the user sees fit. This lack of inner identity allows the outside to appropriate the indoor environment of the house. Most of the house is developed on the ground floor, but there is a small room on the first floor, which rises on a vegetation roof and overlooks the lake.
Description of the project by Paul Bernier
The lakefront site is entirely wooded. It is crossed by a stream on its south side and has a steep incline on the north. These characteristics and the need to build at a distance from the stream suggested a lengthwise placement, with the house slipped in between the stream and the slope.
We chose to create a low-profile, primarily single-storey building. Its meandering shape is determined by the opportunities offered by the surrounding landscape. The form is clad in a single material, with vertical cedar slats of varying width and thickness placed in an open-work manner. The building’s weatherproofing is assured beneath the spaced slats, which conceal the flashing, drip edges, and trim usually visible on the exterior of traditional wood structures. The surface reads instead like a palisade that follows the shape of the building and into which openings have been cut.
From the path leading up to the entrance, the building appears as a mostly opaque volume that follows the contours of the site. To the right, an opening in the palisade invites visitors to come inside. Along the south facade, the volume of the house bends and opens up to let in the light and make the most of the forest view. Further along, the volume bends again, turning toward an opening in the woods that offers a view of the stream flowing into the lake. On the north side, smaller openings frame perspectives of the surrounding landscape.
Inside, visitors are greeted by a large hickory wall unit, shaped to offer seating and a place to hang away coats. It also directs one toward the living space, a large, generously-lit area that culminates in a cantilevered, screened room with a view of the mouth of the stream and the lake. On the south side, the exterior wall makes way for a large glazed surface that opens onto the forest.
The materials used for the surfaces are simple and refined. The white walls and polished cement floors contrast with the rugged natural surroundings, allowing the scenery outside to take centre stage.
