Open to the outside, but protected and sheltered. Expansive, but humble and unobtrusive on the land. These were the seemingly incongruous directives ACDF Architecture was given for a new-build chalet along the shore of Lac Archambault, near Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. In response, the firm delivered a low-slung, glass-wrapped marvel that creates a harmonious relationship with its surroundings, dissolving transitions through well-orchestrated architectural gestures and a restrained material palette.

In this ACDF-designed chalet, the coffered roof features integrated linear LEDs that illuminate and accentuate the wood’s grain and acoustic panels that contribute to the home’s overall sense of intimacy and calm.

The home’s defining feature is a massive coffered glulam roof structure organized in a 1.5-by-1.5-metre grid, a framework that is repeated in the floor plan to create a pleasing rhythm of rooms that open to one another in a fluid and intuitive manner, delineated only by subtle material changes. “As in many concertos where the first violin introduces the melody, here the ceiling takes on that role,” says ACDF lead designer Maxime Frappier of the horizontal plane that unifies the interiors with a graphic clarity and a “controlled composition” that continues to the exterior with an up to 4.5-metre cantilevered extension.

Subtle material shifts throughout indicate transitions from space to space. In the dining room, smooth limestone floor tiles meet a rough-faced stone pathway that leads to another section of the house.

In the centrally located kitchen, this melodic idea is expressed through
an orderly design that is at once comforting and calm and highly functional. A large white oak island topped with a natural grey stone counter provides a generous workstation and is augmented by a longer matching cabinet that runs the length of the windows and wraps around one corner of the room, including a dining nook with built-in leather-upholstered bench seating; baguette-shaped profiles with integrated handles lend the flat-faced units dimension and interest. Behind the island, a black-stained cedar box contains the appliances (a secondary kitchenette behind this serves as a butler’s pantry with room for countertop appliances and additional food and servingware storage), creating a moody counterpoint to the paler wood. Smooth-faced local limestone floor tiles introduce a new texture, one that is echoed on a series of stone walls that dot the interior, supporting the coffered system and further blurring the line between indoors and outdoors. Enveloping the entire room are full-height windows that offer views of the surrounding forest and lake — and beautifully deliver on the client’s request for a home that feels at one with the outdoors.