Alan Karl Architect

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Located in Lac Tremblant, one of Quebec’s most famous lakes, the site has offered features that are as stunning as they are limiting. The steep terrain and high rocky slopes allow few options for implementation or site traffic. A very large flat rock cover at the edge of the lake was chosen as “Level 0” and allowed to create the firm identity of the architectural project. Presented as a kind of natural terrace over the lake, this cover has the special feature of being close to the high cliffs, bordering a portion of land opposite a large body of water, and allowing a full appreciation of the impact of this natural setting.

The general form of the project reflects the landscape strategy to allow implementation in this exact location, following the linear feature of this stone block. The simple form and repetitive composition of the volumes enhance the site’s horizontal profile from the shore and deliberately set the architecture in the background, giving way to the mineral textures of the rock cover. Fabulous view of almost the entire ground floor on the south side is like a belvedere when strolling outside.

However, the project presents an important counterpoint to its composition: it opens generously onto the high cliffs rather than simply opening to the lake. The relatively vertical installation of this other “main” facade of the residence provides a spacious window enclosed in the building’s inner staircase. The horizontal layout of the ground floor provided by the wide opening to the lake combined with the vertical movements on the stairs, allowing the ‘natural wall’ appreciation of the slopes from different vantage points on each of the three floors.

Like the observatory, this residence can transform its occupants’ view of the specific nature of the stylistic architectural approach to reveal the essential aspect of its role: being somewhere in space.

Photography by Felix Michaud