MTR Lake Houses by Alain Carle Architecte

Located on one of Quebec’s most popular lakes, Lac Tremblant, the site’s mountainous topography made it a challenge for Alain Carle Architecte to build their MTR lake house. This place has characteristics that are as amazing as its constraints. Terrain is very steep and large rock wall leaving little room for choice of location, especially for traffic in the area. A very large flat stone promontory on the shores of the lake was chosen as “level 0” and allows retaining the identity of the architectural project. Offering itself as a kind of natural balcony by the lake, this headland is also distinctive in that it is situated near a large cliff, borders on a piece of land opposite a large body of water, and allows for a full appreciation of the natural surroundings.

The surrounding landscape informs the layout of the three-story family home, optimally set to get a lakeside view. While the bedrooms overlook the interior, the kitchen and living room are designed to overlook the beautiful Lac Tremblant through steel frame windows. The general morphology of this project is able to translate the landscape strategy to be placed in the right location. Volume shape is simple and repetitive nature of the composition of horizontal aspects reinforce the place of lakes and deliberately put the architecture in the background. The open concept of almost the entire south ground floor gives the feeling of being outdoors.

This project offers an important counterpoint in composition, namely opening generously to a large cliff rather than just a fund. Slightly vertical in the composition, the other main facade of this residence offers a large window flanked by the interior stairs of the building. For a horizontal spread from the ground floor, offered by the large openings to the lake which are joined by the vertical movement of the stairs, it is possible to appreciate the “natural walls” of the cliffs from different points of view on each floor. It can be concluded, this residence is almost like an observatory that is able to overcome the view of its inhabitants from the defining nature of the stylistic approach in architecture, to reveal important aspects of its role.