Window On The Lake is a modern spin on the traditional cottage or cabin by Montreal-based YH2 Architects. The 1,500 square foot house stands on the site of an old family cottage on the shores of Lac Plaisant in the Mauricie region of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, Canada.
Window On The Lake Cottage
Sited in a small clearing, its foundation invisible, Window On The Lake is a pure, light volume resting on a grassy carpet. The warm, simple wood dwelling set next to a peaceful lake embodies the architect’s attempt to capture the essence of cottage life – a wooden home designed for vacations and enabling communion with nature.
Exemplifying simplicity, restraint and refinement, the cottage features wood construction inside and out, with a single large gable covering all the living spaces. The exterior, both roof and walls, is clad entirely in white cedar boards.
Both of the building’s long sides feature three large, tall glass panels, allowing seamless transitions between interior and exterior spaces.
The south side is all glass, creating a direct link between the lake and the living spaces, arranged under a large double-height gable extending outward to cover a small porch.
The full transparency of the southern façade lets in ample sunlight in fall and winter, while the mature trees standing between house and lake moderate the summer sun and provide a high degree of privacy in boating season.
The balloon frame, with its exposed wooden studs and joists painted white, gives the building a unique rhythm of shadow and light.
The home can sleep up to 12; in the two ground-floor bedrooms and a large, open sleeping area on the second floor.
Architectural Plans:
Window on the Lake
Lac Plaisant, Mauricie
2016
Area: 1500 sq.ft.
YH2 Architects
Design team:
• Karl Choquette, bachelor in architecture
• Marie-Claude Hamelin, architect
• Étienne Sédillot, master in architecture
• Loukas Yiacouvakis, architect
• Photos by: Francis Pelletier