Built deep within the woods on a lakeside lot in Canada, this family home by Naturehumaine exhibits an unconventional, diagonal profile. With small hills intersecting its construction area, a solution had to be devised to keep the home contemporary without compromising its landscape integrity. Instead of settling for a completely closed-off-basement or a single-story dwelling placed at the hill’s crest, the architect chose to create a multi-floor building that still keeps a low profile when seen from the driveway or lake, while also letting in plenty of natural light. To achieve these goals, Naturehumaine chose to eschew the right angles that often dominate modern home design, instead coming up with a sloping roofline on two edges of the home, peaking at one corner and sinking to a single story at each end. This allows two distinct levels of living space, while also keeping in mind that a minimal outward appearance fits best in a natural environment. It looks almost small and simple from certain angles, while others reveal its truly grand scale.
The home sits on a small hill, creating the environment for its unique structure on one side, which transitions upward to remain above ground.
The home’s roofline is only completely horizontal at one extreme edge; even its upper-floor wing carries a fading slant away from the lakeside.
The front entrance steps provide a barrier at which the hillside cuts off, digging out a small lower-floor nook next to the driveway in which uncrowded window openings are placed.
A split line runs across the center of the home’s broadest side, defining where each level of the home sits and showing the growth of the second floor from one edge to the next.
The bottom-floor rooms nearest to the back of the house are only open to natural light on one side, set underground at all other angles.
The rear of the home is its outdoor focal point, with large room-height glass window sets looking out over a lake that sits beyond the property. Black frames and well-placed spot lighting accent this side of the building.
Here, too, the roof is angled, peaking at the left corner before sweeping gracefully downward to a flat plane on the other side. Since this roof section is bordered by a straight, single-story line on the front of the home, its overall structure is actually different from the side slope.
Inside, minimalist wood is the dominant element of the home’s construction. The residence features ceilings much taller than the living room windows would suggest, following the diagonal profiles of this part of the roof.
Passageways and stairways are framed by dark, sleekly luxurious wood panels, an eye-pleasing contrast to the white wood of the ceiling and stressed patterns of the kitchen’s furniture. As with the outside, spot lighting makes all the difference to theatrically present each area of the house.
Naturehumaine
