Project: Alizé Residence
Architecture: Atelier BOOM-TOWN
General contractor: Bois & Nature Construction
Structural engineer: GENIEX
Exterior siding: Juste du Pin / Maxi-Forêt / MAC architectural
Doors & windows: VST Euro Technologie
Cabinetry: Richard & Lévesque
Stairs: Escalier Maxime Lauzon
Veranda windows and screens: Tendal
Fireplace mantel: Soudure Normand inc.
Interior doors and mouldings: Boiserie VM
Location: Wentworth-Nord, Canada
Photo Credits: Raphaël Thibodeau
Atelier BOOM-TOWN presents Alizé Residence, perched on one of the many peaks of the Lac Saint-Victor estate in Wentwoth-Nord, Quebec, Canada. The Alizé residence clings to a cliff to better project itself towards the horizon, braving the winds and framing the landscape through its numerous visual openings. Like the arrows under weather vanes that indicate where the wind is coming from according to the points of the compass, the two main volumes of the architectural composition intersect, and the intersection becomes the residence’s anchor point to the site at the point where the terrain presents the greatest vertical drop.
The roofs are laid out along these two axes covering, from north to south, a small garage, a carport, the main entrance and vestibule, the laundry room, and a large terrace. From east to west, like the trade winds, the living room, kitchen, dining room, study, and master bedroom with private bathroom are arranged under a long, low-pitched roof. The living room’s large windows face east, with the estate’s hills and Lac Notre-Dame in the distance. The longest façade, facing due south, is generously open to its surroundings. Roof projections control excess solar gain in summer and provide weather-protected outdoor spaces.
The lower level provides easy access to a plateau at the foot of the cliff in front of the residence. Here you’ll find a multi-purpose space that doubles as a family room and workout area. The owners, outdoor enthusiasts, can accommodate family and friends in two small dormitory rooms on this floor. This level also houses the mechanical equipment room, two equipment storage areas, a bathroom, and a powder room.
The envelope is monochrome, with wood or steel siding and aluminum windows in black. The concrete of the foundation walls is directly exposed to view, emerging from the earth like the stone of the cliff on which it settles. The decking of the exterior ceilings for the carport and terrace is left in natural wood, while the structure supporting the roof is exposed and painted black. Inside, polished concrete floors store and diffuse heat. High ceilings are made of wood planks.
Throughout the project, the color palette and materials are restrained: black, gray, white, wood, concrete, steel, and glass; pure colors that highlight the environment surrounding the project, its landscapes, daylight, the rhythm of the seasons, the sky, the earth, the bark of the trees, and the rock of the cliffs. The materials and tectonics of the project blend with the elements that make up the nature of the landscape, and the wind that blows across the whole gives it direction.
