Canadian studio Paul Bernier Architecte has done a cottage for a couple of sailing fanatics, shaping their upstairs bedroom with a rounded silhouette evocative of a boat.
The venture is located on the shores of Lac des Deux-Montagnes, a preferred region for sailing and water athletics near Montreal. Though it is called a lake, this body of water is fashioned by the convergence of the St-Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.
The 1-bedroom creating is comprised of a communal floor floor, and an owner’s suite upstairs in a independent volume. According to the architects, the floor floor’s irregular form was dictated by the lot’s flood plain and other zoning controls.
“The web page offered a key problem,” reported Paul Bernier Architecte. “A pretty small location was positioned exterior of the 100-12 months flood line, which will have to be held intact in accordance to urban scheduling rules,” the studio included.

The irregular outlines of the making have the effect of opening up views to the lake, and are built up of sliding glass partitions that increase the dwelling space outwards to a patio.
An overhanging roof delivers some shelter to the developing perimeter, and acts as a platform for the upper flooring. This amount is made up of a small lounge, rest room, and the main bedroom.

“It makes a massive veranda that is sheltered from the rain, and safeguards a terrace at the back that juts out on to the land like a dock on the lake,” mentioned Paul Bernier Architecte. “This roof is lined with a eco-friendly roof [sic] and a terrace accessible from the grasp bedroom, presenting views overlooking the lake.”
The elliptical shape of the upstairs level lends the cottage its nickname “the boat in the trees”. The main bed room is found in a person close of the curved volume, and is surrounded by home windows that present panoramic views of the close by mother nature and waterfront.
“Inside of, the bed room occupies the bow of this boat, with its collection of steel columns supporting the roof, and offering an overlooking see of the lake and the sunset,” claimed Paul Bernier Architecte.
“Viewed from the peaceful street in entrance of the property, the strange form of the chalet intrigues passers-by and animates the neighbourhood.”

The interiors use a restricted palette that the architects explain as “minimalist”. The flooring during the dwelling is exposed concrete, and slatted wood surfaces provide some contrast to the white painted partitions.
Paul Bernier started his eponymous business in 1999 and is dependent in Montreal. Other lakeside residences completed by the atudio involve a home that brings together blackened timber with weathering metal, and a rustic log cabin to which the architects added an higher flooring.
The pictures is by Raphaël Thibodeau.
Undertaking credits:
Architecture staff: Paul Bernier, Anick Thibeault, Alexandre Bernier, Francis Martel-Labrecque
Structural engineer: Alain Mousseau (Calculatec)