Designed by YH2 Architecture, La Colombière is a refuge located in Sutton, Quebec, Canada. YH2 is an architectural design firm founded in 1994 by architects Marie-Claude Hamelin and Loukas Yiacouvakis.
Description by YH2: Initially built as a small storage space by the first owner who was a lumberman, the shed was later rearranged into a forest refuge by its next owners. La Colombière (Dovery) thus represents the completion and third phase of this simple one-storey construction into a true retreat expanding on three floors.
In an attempt to preserve the surrounding nature, the footprint of the building remained untouched. This new phase inspired itself from the natural growth of trees. The link of the tree/house to the soil remains the same while growing vertically and developing an aerial volume reminiscent of tree canopies.
By following such principles, the extension was done without any trees being cut or heavy machinery, which could have spoiled the natural environment offered by the forest.
Recalling the bark of the tall surrounding conifer, the exterior volume is covered in dark cedar. La Colombière’s vertiginous interior is a space painted all in white. Materials and structure of the previous phase are kept and uninterrupted so that the addition acts as an extension rather than an insertion.
On the ground floor, a simple space with exposed structure offers a direct link between rooms and towards the forest’s soil. On the upper floors, each room opens into a vast vertical shaft punctured by an ultra light stairwell, an aerial structure. On the last floor, an exterior covered terrace acts as white perch from where one can admire the surroundings.
Project: La Colombière
Location: Sutton, Quebec, Canada
Area: 120,7 m2
Architects: YH2 Architecture
Design team: François Bélanger, bachelor in architecture; Marie-Claude Hamelin, architect; Loukas Yiacouvakis, architect
Photographs: Francis Pelletier
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