Honouring the A-frame

Designed by Matière Première Architecture

From the renovating architect:

Located near Montréal, this unique A-frame structure sits on an evergreen forest, nearly touching the water on its breathtaking water plane. 

Inaccessibility during the long winter months greatly contributed to accumulated neglect, essentially exposing the old cabin to years of harsh Canadian winters. 

The owners engaged with a resourceful local architect studio, Matière Première Architecture, and its affiliated construction company Nu Drom to design and renovate the 3-seasons cottage. 

Obtaining a simple brief honouring the A-frame typology, with an emphasise on an ecological approach, the architects designed a series of spaces that promote its juxtaposition with the water, while optimising the available space of the cottage for better usage.

Concept & interior spaces

The project was designed to host a series of fluid and relaxing spaces, while offering a close relation to the lake. 

The architecture beautifully captures the natural landscape that unfolds beyond its structure, which becomes fundamental to the living spaces with its offering of an intimate and cosy experience for its occupants. 

The A-frame silhouette produces playful spaces, while continuously offering views towards the lake. 

This undisturbed relation with the exterior is held throughout the project, exposing the cycles and the rhythms of the ever-changing weather.

Materiality

Designed as a beach house, the home's interior design emphasises lighter tones in shades of white and sage to promote a relaxed feel. 

It also embraces casual furnishings, with welcoming rugs and linen accessories, to add warmth to the living spaces. 

The architects selected local, sustainable, and durable materials, including white pine flooring, exposed timber framing, and painted spruce boards. 

The exterior design focused on more durable materials, such as natural white cedar siding, metal roofing, and aluminium windows. 

These materials contribute to a controlled ageing of the cabin without risking its longevity.

Programme

The cottage integrates multiple living spaces within its relatively small footprint. 

The A-frame main large window was shifted toward the interior to accommodate a larger exterior dining area, followed indoor by the living room and dining nook – all offering spectacular views of the lake through the large windows. 

A new stair was relocated to a more discreet position at the rear of the dining nook, leading to a mezzanine. 

Nestled above the living room, it offers a cosy reading net facing the lake, while removing the need for a railing. 

The compact kitchen adjoins the dining nook, and a separate dormitory pavilion sits adjacent to the main cottage, offering more space for guests.

Construction

The very steep and limited access to the site posed challenging construction conditions, with well over 150 steps required to reach the cottage. 

Difficult access to deliver new materials and to remove existing materials, guided the construction in an ecological mindset, leading to the recovery of as many existing materials as possible. 

This undertaking motivated the owners to meticulously renovate the cottage in line with current building practices. 

A temporary cable crane was erected to transport all construction materials to the site, while ensuring the protection of mature trees along its path. 

The owner emphasised the conservation of all existing trees, as well as the revitalisation of the lakefront. 

Local indigenous plants were added to the shoreline to promote organic re-naturalisation.

Designed by: Matière Première Architecture

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Ian Balmorel