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Résidence M
By : DESK architectes
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Residential Building / Cottage & Country House : Bronze Certification
Categories : Residential Building / Private House ≤ 2 000 pi2 (≤ 185 m2) : Gold Certification
Located in Saint-Sauveur, a family chalet built in the 1940s was reaching the end of its useful life; the time had come to replace it to accommodate the out-of-town escapades of a young retiree.
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The brief was to design a new second home that would take advantage of the many constraints inherent in the site. The long, narrow lot left little space for siting. Between restrictive building margins and numerous mature trees to be preserved, construction was going to have to take place on a steep slope that plunges towards the lake.
The building takes the form of two volumes laid in tiers to match the topography. Each of these blocks houses distinct functions and is sized accordingly. The higher volume houses services, storage and the night room, while the volume on the lake side houses the living rooms and communal areas. This configuration offers panoramic views of the lake and the mountainous horizon.
The residence is distributed by a landing staircase that connects the four floor levels, totaling 1,950 ft2 of living space. Right from the entrance, this staircase projects visitors into the living air and invites them to plunge their gaze into the landscape.
Externally, the cladding magnifies the offset of the volumes through the treatment of a vertically installed wood clapboard, in horizontal bands of boards alternating between widths of 4 and 8 inches. This composition forms strata evocative of the geological composition of the surrounding mountains.
Interior, sober, minimalist architecture sits alongside eclectic furnishings steeped in history and personality. The oversized windows in the living area are set on the ground to abolish the boundary between the residence and nature. In places, these openings make you dizzy! As a complement, a few square-shaped windows, like paintings hung on the wall, frame pieces of landscape.
The Résidence M blends into its context with personality. It pays homage to the original character of the chalet of yesteryear, while blending soberly into the surrounding environment.
The Résidence M blends into its context with personality.
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