Perched on a mountain in the Eastern Townships, the Crowhill cabin is based on its timelessness and minimalism concept. By its angular shape, the project aims to underline the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
The project takes advantage of the rocky cape to anchor its raw concrete foundations, on which rest two volumes advancing towards the treetops.
The first module contains the living areas while the second has two bedrooms. By accompanying the natural slope of the ground, their sloping roofs reinforce the sensation of sliding over the cliff. The entrance forms an in-between space between the modules that are oriented differently from each other’s.
The overhanging roofs on the south facade emphasize the view while limiting solar gain during the hot season. On the side, a wooden platform located in continuation of the kitchen is oriented west towards the sunset. The burnt wood use on the facades and the pre-woven hemlock planks result in a natural palette for the exterior envelope.
Inside, the panoramic view becomes the focal point of the living spaces and of the master bedroom. On the floor, the ceramic with a concrete finish unites all the spaces and reminds the natural finish of the foundations.
While enhancing the landscape, the project above all considers the cabin as a minimal and contemplative space, inviting tranquility.
Stéphane Rasselet graduated from McGill University’s school of Architecture in 1990. After working on major projects in offices in Paris, Stéphane returned to Montreal to gain local experience at Dan Hanganu architects, The Arcop Group, and Lapointe Magne et associés. His experience comprised largely of the conception and realization of large scale rehabilitation of existing buildings such as l’institut d’hôtellerie du Quebec (ITHQ) and the ‘Théatre Espace Libre’. In 2004, Stéphane joined forces with Marc-André Plasse to found _naturehumaine architects. Within the first two years of the practice, they had been finalists in two major competitions : The Cistercian Abbey in Oka, and the theater in Dolbeau Quebec. Stéphane became the principal partner in 2013. more
CONTACT
_naturehumaine
305 de Bellechasse, Suite 308
Montreal, Quebec, H2S 1W9
A full renovation of a turn of the century craftsman house in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighborhood. Taking advantage of the panoramic views to the north shore; the layout is a gradient from traditional to modern as you move through from south to north.
The informality, openness and cross functionality of the modern spaces contrast with the formality of the living room; giving the family the opportunity to have the best of both worlds – a cozy character home and a modern light filled home.
The upstairs master bedroom, with its incredible view, was rethought as an open set of spaces that fully take advantage of the original roof structure, exposing the ceiling completely through the introduction of new fir collar ties. A light steel structure allowed us to support the full expanse of glass to the north facade; bringing the outside into the house.
The downstairs slab was dropped to create higher ceilings for the family room; and a large pivot door was placed in the middle of the glass facade to support a direct connection to the outdoor garden. For us it was important to maintain the character of the house, not just in its aesthetic; but in its quirky spaces and unexpected moments; and build up on it with modern layer that allowing the house to embrace a modern way of living.
The work of RUFproject, the multi-disciplinary design firm founded by Sean Pearson, contains both a rigorous aesthetic and an open-ness to crossing creative borders. Rather than starting with an idea of form, RUF focuses on the experiential aspect of the space they will create. Leaving behind any pre-conceived ideas of a project, they allow the design to emerge out of the narrative they weave with a client – whether it is a landscape, building, or branding concept.With their wide ranging international experience, grounded in a certain Canadian sensibility, their work is marked by high design standards and originality, but also by a commitment to an in-situ approach that respects the local, even as it references the global. Whether it’s an exquisite line in a Salt Spring Island house that brings the outside in and reinvigorates the tradition of West Coast Modernism, or a clever play between solidity and transparency in a Soweto sports stadium that contributes to a new architectural language in South Africa, RUF’s vision and integrity shine through.
@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography@ Ema Peter Photography
All images courtesy of McLeod Bovell Modern Houses | @ Ema Peter Photography
PLANS
McLeod Bovell Modern Houses
McLeod Bovell is a collaborative design partnership specializing in complete residential architecture. Since 2008, firm has grown to include a group of 10 designers with diverse backgrounds in architecture, interior and landscape design. more
A gentle three-story sloping site offers significant connections to grade on all levels of the house: a putting green on the upper floor, pool and entertainment on the middle level and more intimate views to natural bedrock al the lower level.
A wide footprint and generous building area allows the central living portions of the house to expand into double-height spaces. These tall spaces interact with a large roof plane with a shaped underside. This roof acts to bind the house together and create diverse, deep covered exterior spaces at all levels.
All images courtesy of Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
PLANS
Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
McLeod Bovell is a collaborative design partnership specializing in complete residential architecture. Since 2008, firm has grown to include a group of 10 designers with diverse backgrounds in architecture, interior and landscape design.
The Esquimalt House moves laterally across a wide, steeply sloping lot, allowing natural flows between a side yard, the living areas, and the pool and outdoor entertaining spaces. A second entrance on the lowest level creates two distinct arrival experiences: a lane entry designed to welcome family, and a guest-oriented, top-level courtyard entry that is unencumbered by driveway infrastructure. The house provides dramatic interior and exterior quasi-public spaces for entertaining while offering a more intimately-scaled spaces for private living and personal contemplation.
All images courtesy of Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
plans
Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
McLeod Bovell is a collaborative design partnership specializing in complete residential architecture. Since 2008, firm has grown to include a group of 10 designers with diverse backgrounds in architecture, interior and landscape design.
Project Team: John Patkau, Patricia Patkau with Peter Suter, Greg Boothroyd, Marc Holland, Christina Gray, Steffen Knab, Hiro Kurozumi, and Renee Martin
Photos: James Dow / Patkau Architects
Linear House is located on a sixteen acre farm on Salt Spring Island, an island in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The property is bisected from east to west by a long row of mature Douglas fir trees. There is a gentle slope falling across the site from south to north. The south half of the site is an orchard containing a variety of fruit trees; the north half of the property is a hay field. There was an existing cottage on the property which has been sold and relocated to a neighbouring property. The existing barn, garage and studio buildings remain.
The row of large Douglas fir trees is unusually situated, bisecting the farm. It stabilizes experience in that it provides a place to stand, to be ‘next to’, to locate position in the open fields. The trees themselves are textural, old, torn and windswept. They hold our attention and make us realize the time of the site, its existence over many, many years. They have a kind of old heart. The impulse to site the new house next to these figures was both intuitive and immediate.
The new house slips into a narrow space between the line of existing fir trees to the north and several pockets of existing trees to the south. It extends 276 feet in a straight line along the south side of the fir trees. One side of the house faces the line of trees and water view beyond. On the opposite side a continuous covered walkway slides past the pockets of existing trees, edging an adjacent fruit orchard. The orchard has been made more regular with additional fruit trees, to reinforce the juxtaposition between the cultural landscape of fruit trees to the south, and the line of native fir trees to the north of the new house. The full extent of the house is never directly experienced from the exterior. That experience is of a dark stealth-like figure sliding in and out behind the screens of trees on either side. At a parting of the trees on either side the length of the house is subdivided into a principal dwelling and guest quarters by a breezeway.
The exterior rainscreen of the house (walls, soffits, parapets, and ‘fins’) is clad in charcoal-colored fibre-cement panels which render the house almost invisible when seen against the dark green foliage of the firs. Interiors are described by a luminous inner lining made of translucent acrylic panels. In order to minimize cut panels, these translucent sheets establish the dimensional module for the project. Over forty fixed and operable acrylic skylights bring sunlight into the roof and wall assemblies during the day causing the interior liner to glow softly and irregularly. At night, fluorescent lights mounted within the skylight openings turn the entire interior into a luminous field. Areas within this overall luminous surround are subdivided and defined by the insertion of reinforced concrete fireplace masses and wood cabinet-like service spaces. 78-foot glazed openings and 28-foot cantilevered roof canopies at either end of the house are achieved by a pair of six-foot deep composite wood beams on each long building face. The numerous top hung sliding aluminum glazed door panels are suspended from these beams. Panels are fully retractable so that during the prolonged fair weather of Salt Spring Island the house can be transformed into an open-air pavilion, more shelter than ‘proper’ house.
Patkau Architects Inc.
All images courtesy of Patkau Architects Inc.
Patkau Architects Inc.
Patkau Architects is an architecture and design research studio based in Vancouver, Canada.
John Patkau, Principal
Patricia Patkau, Principal
Greg Boothroyd, Principal
David Shone, Principal
Shane O’Neill, Associate
Peter Suter, Associate
Michael Thorpe, Associate
The practice is led by four principals: John Patkau, Patricia Patkau, Greg Boothroyd, and David Shone; and three associates: Shane O’Neill, Peter Suter, and Michael Thorpe. Their comprehensive involvement throughout all phases of design and construction consistently results in projects recognized for architectural innovation and quality.
The 1000 square foot pool house is designed to be multifunctional, the open-space interiors can easily transform from a pool house to a guesthouse to entertainment space to work studio and event space.
To emphasize the pool house’s mid-century modern language, the flat roof was accentuated by bringing the roofline forward, creating a floating brow. Windows were pushed flush to the ceiling to articulate the plane of the roof and offer sunlight while providing privacy for guests.
Formerly made of stone, the exterior cladding was relined with lighter and warmer cedar slats. The focal point – the oval pool – was re-imagined without changing its shape through extending the patio parallel to the flatness of the roof.
tongtong
All images courtesy of + tongtong
+ tongtong
Under the leadership of founding principal John Tong, +tongtong is fuelled by the fervor for discovery, a love of visual art and culture and a desire to realize unexpected and captivating spaces. Beginning with a project’s vision and functional requirements, +tongtong investigates and builds immersive experiences addressing all facets of design, including architecture, interiors, furnishings, lighting, art, accessories, branding, music, and fashion. The resulting projects have been known not just for their unique, fresh, and timeless designs but also for their ability to express the essence of their client’s values while contributing to entrepreneurial and business success.
John Tong studied art and design at Montreal’s Concordia University and completed his architecture degree at the University of Toronto, School of Architecture. Immediately after graduating in 1993, Tong co-founded the design firm 3rd Uncle Design Inc. and was a lead designer from 1993 to 2012. Tong then founded +tongtong in 2012 with the desire to incorporate a more collaborative process with an interest in exploring an even wider range of project types. Past projects and clients include the Drake Hotel, W Hotel Hoboken, The Art Gallery of Ontario’s Hands-On Centre, Café Belong, the Plant Nursery at the Evergreen Brick Works, MTV Canada, Palmer Jarvis DDB, Estée Lauder – MAC Cosmetics, Party NYC, Ray Civello Salon and Spa, Lululemon, Lileo at the Distillery and exhibits for the Bata Shoe Museum, Dove, IKEA, Audi Canada and the Interior Design Show. John’s work has been recognized around the world and has received numerous design awards. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, CAA in Montreal, MOMA in New York, the Design Exchange and The Interior Design Show in Toronto, and has been profiled in international publications and books. He is currently on the advisory board for the Institute without Boundaries and sits on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Theatre Centre.
CONTACT
INFO@TONGTONG.CO
416.504.6563
35 GOLDEN AVE N°106
TORONTO, ON
M6R 2J5, CANADA
A window on the lake: the very essence of the cottage. A warm, simple wood dwelling open to nature and a peaceful lake.
The house stands on the site of an old family cottage, just steps away from the shores of Lac Plaisant in the Mauricie region. Thanks to its simplicity, restraint and refinement, the project embodies the architect’s attempt to capture the
essence of cottage life – a wooden home designed for vacations and enabling true communion with nature.
Featuring wood construction inside and out, the house’s single large gable covers all living spaces.
Sited in a small clearing, its foundation invisible, the home is a pure, light volume resting on a grassy carpet.
Its architecture is restrained and its scale modest, in tune with the clearing and lake.
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 cottage has a relaxed character. It is a true family cottage that can sleep up to 12 in two ground-floor bedrooms and a large, open sleeping area on the second floor.
This is the cottage as an expression of the art of living: a gentle, simple, pure way of life.
The Slender House
Located in the beautiful region of the Eastern Townships near the US border in Quebec, the Slender House Residence unfolds in a long linear volume. Nestled on the steep shores of Lake Memphremagog it opens-up onto a peaceful secluded bay.
A Blade on the Rock
This 4500 square feet residence is solidly anchored in the rock thanks to its numerous stone retaining walls and paved terraces. Massive dry stacked, locally supplied granite volumes serve as bases on which rests an impressive 111 feet long roof with blade like sharp edges. From the street, the roof literally becomes a fifth facade.
Precisely detailed to fit seamlessly within the black wooden exterior walls, a large garage door sits between the massive stone volumes. The discreet and fascinating approach gives us the impression of sinking into the ground between a hanging garden and the house. As one makes his way along these dark and massive facades towards the main access courtyard, a huge glass bay window marks the entrance from which a view of the lake is immediately revealed. The austere and rough appearance of the exterior stands in contrast with the very large, bright and airy interiors of the house.
Vast and bright
Large bay windows, skylights and immaculate white walls literally flood the space with light and offer breathtaking views of the lake. At times reaching 25 feet high, ceilings stretch to augment the amplitude of these living spaces. All the rooms of the Slender house are positioned to form one single linear row. In addition to the master’s suite, two high-end suites with full bathrooms and small adjoining lounge, a sauna and a training room compose the program of this luxurious house. A service corridor that connects the main entrance to the ground floor entrance doubles as the entrance to the garage and gives access to a small washroom, laundry room and pantry that connects to the kitchen through a secret door.
The kitchen and the built-in furniture of the fireplace that conceals the television were designed down to the smallest detail to mask all the technical aspects.
The whiteness of the kitchen is revealed as an extension of the walls and ceilings while the island is born from the extension of the floors that are covered in large blades of white oak.
A feeling of lightness
Worthy of the big hotels, the minutia of the details, the richness of the materials and the control of the lines exude this soothing feeling of lightness.Using the same material as the residence, a boathouse on the lake also offers an extra kitchenette and a magnificent roof terrace to enjoy the sunsets.
Setting the residence on such a steep ground necessitated the construction of numerous retaining walls offering a great opportunity to develop hanging gardens. Illuminated in the evening, this cascade of vegetation is fully appreciated from the inside and enchants the place.
The Slender house comes as a contemporary reinterpretation of the Bungalow of the 1960’s slicing tradition with elegance.
CHARLES CÔTÉ Architecte, Co-président et Co-fondateur
JEAN-SÉBASTIEN HERR Architecte, Co-président et Co-fondateur
Capitalizing on their North American and European experience with a variety of world renowned architectural firms, MU Architecture’s founders acquired a considerable amount of international experience while working with multidisciplinary teams and practices in Montreal, Vienna, Barcelona, Dubai and have developed a wide range of expertise. Actively involved in each project, they are able to perform in respect with the European and American architectural rules and standards.
THE FIRM
Based in Montreal since early 2010, MU Architecture specializes in contemporary design. The firm’s projects include residential, commercial, institutional and industrial spaces.
MU Architecture’s desire to build sensitive spaces is characterized by the conceptual nature of their projects’ design, high quality achievement and their obvious concern for details. The firm’s assets are based on its ability to manage and adapt to a variety of situations, its innovative designs, its constant concern for green architecture and new technologies while maintaining schedules and established budgets. The regulations high compliance of their work and the monitoring and support that they offer throughout the project process and their close collaboration with various trades of work are insurance to the project’s quality.
Given its passion for work, architectural skills, travel experience and client management strength, MU Architecture thrives on new challenges and spends the time and effort it takes to insure success.
The family run iconic noodle shop on Main Street, formally known as Pho Hoang Vietnamese Restaurant, opened their doors back in 1983. As the first and longest standing Pho specialty house in Vancouver, it was time for an update. Anh + Chi (meaning eldest brother and eldest sister) approached the interior designers at House of Bohn to transform the space into a youthful, fresh Vietnamese restaurant where people could come to dine and enjoy a cocktail at the bar. This concept was atypical of a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. In order to develop the interior design concept, our design team researched Vietnam extensively and were inspired by the lush landscapes, colorful traditional attire, as we’ll as the array of texture and colour presented in their cuisine.
In order to create a lounge atmosphere, House of Bohn wanted to locate the bar in the centre of the space and act as the main focal point. The custom wood pattern on the face of the bar was inspired by rolling hills of Vietnam. Behind the bar, House of Bohn designed custom panels created with hundreds of chopsticks that formed a radial pattern inspired by traditional Vietnamese fans. Palm printed wall paper lined the washroom walls to reflect the lush, tropical landscapes found in Vietnam and the brass chandelier over the chef’s table was made to resemble straw hats. Overall the space was layered with different wood tones, retro elements and wall tile imported from Vietnam to create a modernized space full of nostalgic elements to remind you of where it all started from.
House of Bohn
All images courtesy of House of Bohn
House of Bohn
KARIN BOHN OWNER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Karin Bohn is the founder and creative director behind the award-winning Vancouver-based design firm, House of Bohn. Karin established the interior design firm over 8 years ago, and since has made her mark in many industries including luxury residential, multi-family, restaurants and retail. Karin let’s you into her world of business and design weekly videos on her YouTube channel www.youtube.com/c/karinbohn
A couple with two young children wishes to renovate a row house dating back to the 1970s. Being part of a set of rowhouses designed uniformly, no changes were brought to the exterior appearance of the house. Contained within a space of 16′-0 ” wide by 47′-0 ” in length, the residence is organized on 4 levels including the basement. The entire layout of the rooms has been completely reconfigured according to the new needs of the clients. An existing triple-height void topped by a skylight illuminates the heart of the house.
A new staircase with a guard composed of black painted steel tubular sections emphasises the verticality of triple height space. A white wall cladded with painted wooden panels installed in a random arrangement adds a dramatic effect to the entire project. Two translucent glass plates provide luminosity to the bathrooms and punctuate the wooden wall on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The original stainless steel suspended light fixtures were painted black and their supports reconfigured more dynamically. The use of pale maple wood for the floors, concrete for the kitchen island and velvety white laminate for the cabinets, contributes to the minimalist spirit of the residence where a specific attention to detail is omnipresent.
Stéphane Rasselet graduated from McGill University’s school of Architecture in 1990. After working on major projects in offices in Paris, Stéphane returned to Montreal to gain local experience at Dan Hanganu architects, The Arcop Group, and Lapointe Magne et associés. His experience comprised largely of the conception and realization of large scale rehabilitation of existing buildings such as l’institut d’hôtellerie du Quebec (ITHQ) and the ‘Théatre Espace Libre’. In 2004, Stéphane joined forces with Marc-André Plasse to found _naturehumaine architects. Within the first two years of the practice, they had been finalists in two major competitions : The Cistercian Abbey in Oka, and the theater in Dolbeau Quebec. Stéphane became the principal partner in 2013.
Architect: Angela Tsementzis Photography by Bob Gundu and Colin Faulkner
The cantilevered structure of the Concrete House responds to the zoning and physical contraints of the ravine site and to the owners’ requirements to connect indoor and outdoor spaces.
The footprint of the lower floor is minimized to maintain the setback from the stable top of slope while the middle volume extends towards the ravine, placing the main living spaces within the treetops. Board formed concrete is the predominant finish in the house and is achieved through a system of cast in place concrete sandwich panels which allows the entire wall assembly to be completedin in a single casting.
Angela Tsementzis
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Colin Faulkner
Photo by Bob Gundu
Photo by Bob Gundu
Angela Tsementzis Architect
Angela Tsementzis Architect was established in 2010 by principal Angela Tsementzis. Her work encompasses the full sensorial experience. She crafts light, shadow and space to create a memorable, narrative path through a building. Her work uses tactile, texture rich materials that are tantalizing to the eyes and inviting to the touch.
Siting is another prime consideration, encouraging visitors to be immersed in the singularity of the locale secludes perches where one can contemplate the rustling of the trees and the ever changing foliage beyond.
Situated on a steep and technically challenging site, this single family home was designed to capture views of the outer harbour and heavy marine traffic along the jagged West Vancouver coast line. The home’s irregular shape traces the site boundary, coming to an angled blinder that provides privacy from tight adjacent properties. A natural, minimalist palate of raw concrete, steel, leather and wood creates a calm interior space that doesn’t distract from the framed ocean view beyond.
Movement into the house is carefully choreographed to disguise the considerable elevation change from street to living space – no individual stair run is greater than 1/2 story, allowing an unobstructed sightline from the oversized pivot entrance door through to the terrace. Similarly, the split level arrangement allows for generous volumes in the main living spaces and a closer connection between upper and main floor, while also providing dramatic elements such as the 40 foot elevation drop from the suspended deck and plunge pool to the rear garden below.
All images courtesy of Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
PLANS
Mcleod Bovell Modern Houses
McLeod Bovell is a collaborative design partnership specializing in complete residential architecture. Since 2008, firm has grown to include a group of 10 designers with diverse backgrounds in architecture, interior and landscape design. more
Design Team : John Patkau, Patricia Patkau, and David Shone with Mike Green, Dimitri Koubatis, and Greg Boothroyd, James Eidse, Marc Holland, Tony Mah, Henry Murdock, Ben Raimes, Thomas Schroeder, Craig Simms, Tony Wai.
Photographer : JAMES DOW, PATKAU ARCHITECTS
Perched 44 feet above the Pacific Ocean on a remote island, the Tula House reflects the casual irregularity of the sites rock ledges, beach, and forest in both its geometric and spatial order.
The topography of the site is highly irregular; the prospects diverse. Views to the east stretch over the open water and islands of the Strait of Georgia to the mountain ranges on the mainland of British Columbia. Views to the south overlook a small tidal basin. Moss covered basalt hills are interspersed among treed expanses and richly vegetated crevices, valleys and swales. Stands of red alder and big-leafed maple enliven the predominantly dark Douglas fir forest. The shoreline below the house is littered with the flotsam and jetsam of the ocean where logs and rocks have been tossed around by the tides and storms like a child’s game of “pickup sticks”. One site is actually many sites.
The house cultivates a sense of dwelling with, and within, such diversity. Low rock walls edge a gravel approach to the house. A loose arrangement of concrete walls, clad in staggered fibre-cement panels, begins to describe space. These panels are charcoal in color, so that from a distance the house visually recedes into the dark forest. The roof, planted in moss and native ground covers, appears from above to be continuous with the surrounding ground plane.
Groundwater flows continuously through the site, and is captured momentarily within an entry courtyard. The ground plane of the courtyard and interior floor of the house are large shard-like concrete plates. Within the house, a series of slowly unfolding concrete walls define and channel the flow of space through to ocean views. This primary flow is diverted in passage by eddies of secondary space which branch off, separating and focusing moments of diversity in the site: the small tidal basin off the kitchen nook, a ledge of moss covered rock in the bedrooms, a view back from the court to a swath of deciduous trees.
Above, a steel-framed roof mirrors the order of concrete walls and floor plates. Narrow skylights project lines of light at oblique angles through space. At the cliff-edge, the solidity of concrete floors is left behind. A steel-framed, wooden deck cantilevers into the air. While an uninterrupted expanse of glass takes in distant, sublime views of the Straight, glazed apertures in the floor of the living room deck open vertiginously to the textures and sensual immediacy of beach and ocean below. Millwork elements float freely within the spaces like the flotsam and jetsam on the beach.
+1 514-907-9092
Stéphane Rasselet
