Un eco-chalet di Appareil architecture in una foresta del Québec vicino ad Austen. An environmentally friendly chalet in a forest in Quebec by Appareil architecture.

A small environmentally friendly chalet has suddenly materialized in the middle of a forest in Quebec, near Austen in the tourist region of Eastern Townships. The form devised by Appareil architecture stems from rigorous study of the site and the woodland

This black chalet with a total floor area of 136 sqm, along with a tool shed that is a reproduction of it in miniature, has the classic silhouette of a “cottage in the woods”. In its rigorous and essential form it enters into dialogue with the surrounding landscape, the prime source of inspiration for the young team at Appareil, a multidisciplinary practice based in Montreal that has its roots in Nordic culture as far as the materials and methods of construction utilized and its language are concerned. Even before imagining the structure of the building the architects Robert Lavoie

and Kim Pariseau made a thorough study of the characteristics of the site and the woodland setting in order to optimize every line and every volume in relation to the qualities of the ecosystem and create a symbiosis between architecture and nature. This respect for the environment is also confirmed by the decision to locate a parking area well away from the house, with which it is connected by a path running through the trees that then turns into cedar wood decking linking the two structures. The main building is organized around a central technical core that is located on both levels, partially integrates the kitchen and its spacious larder and helps to separate different functions without interrupting the continuity of the spaces. The day zone on the ground floor consists of a single full-height space with custom-built furniture onto which the night zone on the upper floor faces. The monochromatic corrugated-steel cladding is echoed on the inside of the house by several black elements, such as the hanging lamps, in contrast with the prevalence of light colours – the white of the ceilings and the loft that contains the night zone, the plywood panels of the walls made from Baltic poplar and birch, the grey of the polished cement floor – made even brighter by the natural light entering though the large expanses of glass. The well-insulated chalet has underfloor heating on the ground floor, a wood stove in the living room and convectors on the first floor. The building’s carefully studied orientation also plays a part in creating the right climate

Atmosfera ariosa per soggiorno e sala da pranzo che godono della doppia altezza del soffitto. An airy atmosphere for the living and dining rooms, which have a double-height ceiling.

La natura entra a fare parte dell’abitazione grazie ad aperture ben studiate. Nature enters the house through well-studied openings.

La essenziale matericità dell’architettura si inserisce perfettamente del paesaggio boschivo. The essential material of the architecture blend perfectly into the wooded landscape.