Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes has completed a house in Mauricie, a region of Québec, Canada, between Montréal and Québec City. The design draws on the area's industrial heritage and on the natural setting around it.
Three wings on a stone base
The house is made of three wings set on a natural stone foundation. Each wing has a main steel structure and a secondary timber structure that is deliberately left exposed. The upper floor rises from the ground and follows the curves of the nearby St. Maurice River.
Black spruce planks clad the upper level, chosen for their visual neutrality. The architects wanted it to read as a mysterious object floating among the trees and responding to the bends of the river. The living areas are cantilevered, so the upper floor seems to hang in the air, and they point the views out to the landscape.
Arches and cedar
The entrance is reached through a covered outdoor space, arched on all four sides. The arches take their cue from Les Forges du Saint-Maurice and echo traditional stone masonry.
Inside, the staircase wraps around a cascade of pendant lights and leads the eye to the living areas upstairs. The ceiling is lined with knot-free cedar slats, a warm contrast to the black exterior, and the cedar continues outside into a screened room.
Living upstairs
The living areas and master suite are on the second floor. Rooms for guests and visiting family, plus garages and utility rooms, are on the first floor. A sitting area has a wood-burning fireplace built into a massive stone wall, which softens the concrete, steel and glass around it. A second living room with a large couch and a games area gets plenty of daylight from floor-to-ceiling windows.
The dining area and kitchen are open-plan and finished in light materials that stand out against the black structure. In one bedroom a wood accent wall warms a room with a concrete floor that opens to the deck. Both bathrooms use white and grey with black accents.
Project credits
- Project: House in Mauricie, Québec, Canada
- Architect: Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes
- General contractor: Construction Boulard et associés
- Structural engineer: L2C experts conseils
- Photography: Adrien Williams
- Source: Contemporist