SAOTA Designs Canadian Home on the Banks of Lake Huron

Lead Designers: SAOTA

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SAOTA Project Team: Mark Bullivant, Johan Basson & Paulina Paz

Architect of Record: Matter Architectural Studio Inc.

Structural Engineer: Concentric Engineering

Electrical Engineer: Capson Electrical

Contractor: MCI Design-Build Corporation

Landscaping: MHLA Inc

Lighting Design: SAOTA with assistance from Lux Populi

Interior Designer: ARRCC

Bespoke Furniture: OKHA

Photographer: Adam Letch

Copy by: Graham Wood

This is a look at the front of the house with a set of concrete steps flanked by flowering shrubs and grass lawns leading to the main entrance.

This is a nighttime view of the front of the house showcasing the outdoor lights that match the glow of the house escaping through glass walls.

This is a view of the house from the vantage of the driveway adorned with shrubs and rolling lawns.

This closer look at the house features its unique and modern design with large concrete structures adorned by glass walls.

This is a closer look at the exterior of the house. Here you can see the glass walls of the lower level and the glass railing of the balcony above it.

The modern exteriors of the house is softened up by the landscaping that has tall trees and grass lawns.

The driveway leads to this area of the house with wide garage doors and a small courtyard adorned with landscaping that complements the modern aesthetic of the house.

This nighttime view of the house showcases the warm glow of the glass windows and walls coming from interior lights.

This is the poolside area of the house with a wide grass lawn surrounding the wooden deck walkways of the pool.

A few steps from the wooden deck walkway of the pool is a covered patio with a comfortable sofa set and an outdoor dining set on the side.

This view of the house from the poolside area showcases the large glass walls of the house that pairs well with the landscaping of the poolside area.

This is a close look at the sitting areas placed on the side of the pool on the wooden walkway. You can also see here the concrete slab walkway leading to the glass doors of the house.

This is a closer look at the sofas set placed at the covered patio a few steps from the pool. These are paired with a wooden coffee table and a couple of woven ottomans.

Upon entry of the house, you are welcomed by this foyer that has a swiveling main door, a tall ceiling and hanging decors that are brightened by the large transom window.

This is up at the tall ceiling of the foyer showcasing the hanging geometric decors and the large glass transom window.

This is the living room that has a tall ceiling and a view of the landscape outside the glass doors to the poolside area.

This view shows more of the living room's tall ceiling adorned with a large transom window that brings in an abundance of natural lighting.

This is another look at the living showing the large L-shaped sectional sofa topped with a wall-mounted TV.

This is a look at the dining area a few steps from the family area at the far end. These are then complemented by the surrounding glass walls that show the landscape outside.

The dining area has a large dark wooden dining table surrounded by light gray cushioned chairs and topped with a set of modern decorative lighting.

The kitchen is just a few steps from the living room area. This has a large white kitchen island paired with white modern stools for the breakfast bar.

This is the view up the stairs with a look at the landing that is illuminated by the tall glass window. This pairs well with the dark walls.

This is the spacious game room with a large pool table on the far side. This room also has its own living room area with comfortable chair, wood-top coffee table and sofa.

This is the bathroom with a freestanding bathtub at the far end by the large glass wall that offers a view of the lake.

The bedroom has a cushioned headboard that extends to the bedside drawers. These are complemented by the surrounding glass walls that offer views of the landscape outside.

This is a view of the home from the vantage of the lake. You can see here that the modern exteriors of the house are complemented by the surrounding landscape filled with tall trees.

This summer house is set on the banks of Lake Huron in a small, remote Canadian town about an hour’s drive from London, Ontario. While the architectural context might be characterised as somewhat conservative “cabin country”, this house attempts to extend the possibilities of the traditional lakeside family retreat through a contemporary architectural approach, harnessing recent developments in design, technology and sustainability to connect meaningfully with its beautiful natural setting while exploring new ways of enhancing the lifestyle experience of the family summer getaway.

While the aesthetic approach that Cape Town-based architecture firm SAOTA took might seem like a radical departure from the traditional regional architecture, the architects have taken great care to keep the design unobtrusive and sensitive to its setting, while still making an architectural statement.

The site is a bluff occupying the transitional space between water and forest, rising 3.5m from road level and then dropping down to the water to create a grassy embankment. The building is set back on the property towards the street to preserve the natural bluff. On approach, the house is largely concealed by the surrounding mature fir trees, appearing as a simple light-coloured stone box floating effortlessly between the tree trunks. The rear of the house, facing Lake Huron, dissolves into a two-storey wall of glass washing natural light deep into the interiors.

Conceptually, the design consists of a series of stacked and suspended rectangular boxes, one embedding the building into the ground plane, the other suspended overhead to allow the living level to exist between the volumes. An indoor/outdoor volume to the south anchors the building and maximises the site’s lakeside views while allowing the living spaces to occupy the foreground. A bank of bedrooms projects backwards above the garage.

The way in which the building is largely obscured from the street and in turn screens views of the lake helps build suspense on arrival, only to satisfy the sense of anticipation on entry via the large pivot door. From the threshold, a dramatic triple-volume atrium lets in natural light and draws the eye outwards towards the view.

Programmatically, in keeping with the client brief, the spaces are fluid, the levels easy to navigate and the layout simple and well-structured, allowing for a casual atmosphere. The vast central volume is subtly contrasted with more intimate and contained volumes in the kitchen and other living spaces for a varied and articulated spatial experience.

The upper-level housing the primary bedroom is devoted entirely to the owners’ private space, including an office and a gym. To the front of the house, a covered outdoor entertainment area flanks a swimming pool. A boardwalk and staircase descend to a refurbished cabin that predated the house, and now houses a guest suite and additional outdoor entertainment area to facilitate long summer days playing on the lake.

The client’s favourite room is the ‘engine room’ on the lowest floor, which houses all the building services infrastructure. A commercial-grade Building Automation System (BAS) controls and monitors the home, ensuring optimum performance at all times. A 15kw solar array provides power to the home and excess power is regularly fed back into the utility grid for credit and later use. The limited municipal infrastructure for stormwater and sewer resulted in an on-property underground stormwater system that can handle a 100-year storm and an eco-flo septic system to deal with all sewer requirements on site.

The finishes, externally and internally, favour a ceramic panelled system robust and hard-wearing enough to prove long-lasting in the extremes of the Canadian climate, which together with the home’s energy efficiency and the general longevity of the project and its materials, components and fittings contribute to its sustainability.

The interior decoration was by ARRCC, the interiors division of SAOTA.

By Jon Dykstra · See their LinkedIn.