Lake Cottage
Lake Cottage is a reinterpretation of living in a tree house where nature is an integral part of the building. In a forest of birch and spruce trees along the Kawartha Lakes, the cottage is designed as a two storey, multi-uses space for a large family. The structure, composed of a 7m high A-frame pitch roof covered in black steel and charred cedar siding. A deep cut in the building volume creates a cantilever overhang for a protected outdoor terrace with mirrors to further give the illusion of the building containing the forest inside.
Fourteen openings in the main living space reveal both inhabited spaces, skies and trees. The abstract nature of the interior spaces allows the imagination to flow, and those spaces that could be identified as a domestic interior can suddenly become play spaces. A solid timber staircase leads to a loft which gives the feeling of ascending into tree canopies as sunlight softy falls on a wall covered in shingles stained in light blue.
Using local materials and traditional construction methods, the cottage incorporated sustainable principles. The black wood cladding of the exterior is a technique of charring cedar that acts as a natural agent against termite and fire. Thick walls and roof provide high insulation value, a central wood hearth provides heat, deep recessed windows and operable skylights provide ventilation and diffused natural light.
