Usual House
  • HOME
  • PHOTOS
    • BASEMENT
    • BATHROOM
    • BEDROOM
    • BILLARD ROOM
    • CLOSET
    • DINING ROOM
    • ENTRY
    • EXTERIOR
    • GARAGE AND SHED
    • HALL
    • HOME OFFICE
    • KIDS ROOM
    • KITCHEN
    • LAUNDRY
    • LIVING
      • FAMILY ROOM
      • LIVING ROOM
      • MEDIA ROOM
    • OUTDOOR
      • BALCONY
      • DECK
      • FENCE
      • LANDSCAPE
      • PATIO
      • POOL
      • PORCH
    • POWDER ROOM
    • SPACES
    • STAIRCASE
    • WINE CELLAR
  • PRODUCTS
    • FURNITURE
      • BAR STOOLS & COUNTER STOOLS
      • CHAIRS & BENCHES
      • COFFEE TABLES
      • DAY BEDS & CHAISES
      • OTTOMANS & CUBES
      • SOFAS
    • KITCHENWARE
      • COFFEE MAKERS & TEA KETTLES
    • LIGHTING
      • CEILING FANS
      • CHANDELIERS
      • FLOOR LAMPS
      • DESK LAMPS
      • PENDANT LIGHTING
      • TABLE LAMPS
      • WALL LAMPS & SCONCES
  • ADVERTISE (FREE)
  • CONTACTS
  • BEST OF PRODUCTS
Back to top

Hill-Maheux Cottage

Location: Val-des-Monts, Québec, Canada

Dates: 2006 – 2010

Task: To design a small, very private, four-season cottage.

Design Challenge: In this small, weekend and vacation retreat, the clients and their daughter seek to take refuge from the world. As such, the home is introverted; but the clients also desired that the house achieve a maximum connection to its beautiful, forested, lake-side site. Last, it is important to note that this home is built as a place the clients will keep for their entire lives and then pass on to their daughter; the clients, a couple each involved in art conservation, sought a home whose design would itself be conceived as a vessel for the conservation of the family memories that will unfold here.

Design Solution: The design of the cottage is simple: two “bars” of living space – one private containing bedrooms, bathrooms, and storage; one public containing family living areas. These two bars are joined by an elliptical loft – the daughter’s domain – that intersects each ground-floor volume and hovers over the foyer giving shelter to the entry below.

The underside of the loft volume (above the entry) is surfaced with a “quilt” of steel plates interspersed with copper and zinc printing plates that the clients inherited from a print-maker friend; many of the plates are etched with landscapes. Likewise, many of the plates are etched by the three family members themselves. Because yet-unetched printing plates are also installed in the “quilt” and can be easily removed, the ceiling evolves with time as the family and their friends visiting the cottage leave behind newly etched plates. In this way, the house keeps a physical record of its past. The idea of etched landscapes is also extended to the exterior envelope of the house where panels are incised with a pattern of abstracted reeds. The back of these cuts are lined with reflective aluminum. As such, given that the reflective material is recessed, the “reeds” sit dormant until sunlight falls directly upon them. In this way, the facades transform in a very nuanced manner throughout the course of the day and seasons.

  • 23235.jpg ADDED

    Interesting modern house design

    See all photos in project: “Hill-Maheux Cottage”
    Architect: Kariouk Associates
    Photography: Photolux Studio

  • 23244.jpg ADDED

    Big yellow sheet plywood floor

    See all photos in project: “Hill-Maheux Cottage”
    Architect: Kariouk Associates
    Photography: Photolux Studio

  • 23237.jpg ADDED

    Modern red house in the woods

    See all photos in project: “Hill-Maheux Cottage”
    Architect: Kariouk Associates
    Photography: Photolux Studio

  • 23246.jpg ADDED

    Indoor outdoor room

    See all photos in project: “Hill-Maheux Cottage”
    Architect: Kariouk Associates
    Photography: Photolux Studio

  • 23236.jpg ADDED

    Modern red exterior

    See all photos in project: “Hill-Maheux Cottage”
    Architect: Kariouk Associates
    Photography: Photolux Studio

Search

  • ►Photos
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Bedroom
    • Billiard Room
    • Closet
    • Dining Room
    • Entry
    • Exterior
    • Garage and Shed
    • Hall
    • Home Gym
    • Home Office
    • Kids Room
    • Kitchen
    • Laundry
    • ►Living
      • Family Room
      • Living Room
      • Media Room
    • ►Outdoor
      • Balcony
      • Deck
      • Fence
      • Landscape
      • Patio
      • Pool
      • Porch
    • Powder Room
    • Spaces
    • Staircase
    • Wine Cellar
  • ►Products
    • ►Furniture
      • Bar Stools & Counter Stools
      • Chairs & Benches
      • Coffee Tables
      • Day Beds & Chaises
      • Ottomans & Cubes
      • Sofas
    • ►Kitchenware
      • Coffee Makers & Tea Kettles
    • ►Lighting
      • Ceiling Fans
      • Chandeliers
      • Desk Lamp
      • Floor Lamp
      • Pendant Lighting
      • Table Lamp
      • Wall Lamps & Sconces

Filter by Style:

  • Modern 5

Filter by Color:

  • Black 1
  • Brown 1
  • Gray 1
  • Red 5
  • White 2
  • Yellow 1