Share to
Trio of chalets in Charlevoix – The Botanist | The Perch | The Trapper
By : PRISME architecture
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Residential Building / Cottage & Country House : Silver Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Prestige House : Bronze Certification
VLA Mon Chalet is the construction of 3 luxury chalets combined with spectacular views on the St. Lawrence River in Charlevoix created by PRISME architecture and Marie-Ève Cantin. United by a cosy and prestigious design, they are differentiated by their orientation and significant themes.
High-rise refuges: these warmly designed chalets
If we were to represent each season by an architecture, winter would undoubtedly be symbolized by the chalet. Once a high-altitude refuge, it has become a real home and, very often, a prestige home, for living luxury at altitude. However, chalets are no longer intended for simple winter use, they have become 4-season dwellings where you want to disconnect, just for a weekend, in a relaxing space while still retaining comfort. This is the logic behind Vla Mon Chalet’s three sittoresque homes overlooking a magnificent landscape: the St. Lawrence River. The projects, conceived by architects and designers from the firms PRISME architecture and Marie-Ève Cantin, illustrate the possible fusion between architecture and landscape.
Designing an exceptional chalet in Charlevoix requires a mastery of the codes of comfort and luxury in the mountains. The architects, armed with their know-how, reinvent the traditional chalet as a luxury home. They bring together the traditional features of mountain construction, which rely on wood and stone, with a design imbued with luxury and modernity.
The exterior materials are natural for an authentic architecture, nonetheless disrupted by ever-larger picture windows, allowing you to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of snow-capped peaks in winter or valleys of preserved, verdant fir trees the rest of the year.
In Charlevoix, architects take advantage of an ever-changing context – sloping terrain, prevailing winds, orientations – to design the ideal chalet that perfectly meets the expectations of their high-end clientele.
The team’s designers create bespoke interiors, marrying the warmth of local architecture with the comfort of the contemporary, which requires increasingly sophisticated communal spaces and facilities such as a spa, games room, top-of-the-range furnishings and bedding…
An architectural concept in tune with its surroundings
The 3 chalets bear distinctive names: Le Trappeur, Le Perchoir and Le Botaniste. These names have been carefully chosen according to the location and orientation of each.
Le Perchoir, nestled high at Les Éboulements, was designed lengthwise to point towards the St. Lawrence River. Like a nest perched on a tree, the structure offers a suspended overhang offering the sensation of floating and freedom. The large bay windows enhance this sensation and plunge occupants, comfortably seated in the long sofa, into a warm, spacious cocoon. The interior design brings in many touches of wood, echoing the idea of the twigs that make up nests.
The Botanist, surrounded by its lush vegetation, vibrates to the breeze of the plants and blends harmoniously with its surroundings. Located in Les Éboulements, its long structure and all its open views of the trees make it an ideal resting place for those seeking quietude. Its clean, warm interior design offers space and allows everyone to find serenity in all 4 corners of the home.
The Trappeur, harmoniously embedded in the mountain, overlooks the St. Lawrence River. Designed to offer views of the river from every room in the dwelling, it stands out for its meticulous, grounded architecture. Like a trapper’s retreat, the chalet is a discreet observatory nestled in the vegetation. Its cosy yet uncluttered design is ideal for occupants wishing to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the city. Also featuring numerous touches of wood on the interior, it is intended to be in tune with its landscape and create continuity between inside and out.
Orientation being the watchword for these constructions, it was important for VLA Mon Chalet to offer a unique experience between comfort and nature.
Luxurious constructions imbued with authenticity and biophilia
Biophilia, which celebrates human interaction with nature and uses natural materials and plants to bring the outdoors inside, is one of the pillars of the 3 Chalets concept. In Quebec we’re lucky to be surrounded by so much space and nature, it’s important to preserve it and allow people easy access to it.
The chalets can accommodate up to 12 people, each situated on a wooded lot which allows guests to enjoy their space, both indoors and out. Wood is very much in evidence both inside and out, and each property is intentionally bathed in natural light; indeed, the architects made a conscious decision not to install blinds so that the boundary between inside and outside is blurred. That’s why our 3 cottages feature large, luminous openings in the living room, as well as all the openings in each of the rooms that reflect either on the St. Lawrence River or on the forest, and bring all that nature into the home.
The colors as well as the materials have been carefully chosen to accentuate this vegetal side, this nature bath and this simplicity and authenticity of life.
Also, it’s important to note that the luxury side and the nature side go hand in hand. All chalets are equipped with high-end appliances, a spa, quality furniture and bedding. The finishes have been worked to recall the prestige side of hotels. The concept was therefore to offer high-standard comfort to customers looking to reconnect with their surroundings and enjoy a moment of tranquility.
The result is the creation of 3 different chalets in architectural envelope design, but with the common point of offering its customers a unique experience within a lush and spectacular environment.
Collaboration
Architect : PRISME architecture
General Contractor : Groupe DCR
