Chalet Forestier

The Chalet Forestier by Atelier Barda is an easy-to-maintain secondary house located on the eastern face of Mount Pinnacle in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

When the clients, city dwellers, decided to build their secondary residence near Montreal for weekends and holidays, they chose a woodland site on the eastern face of Mount Pinnacle in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. Their requirements were modest : they wanted an easy-to-maintain chalet, largely open to surrounding nature. Chalet Forestier outlines a large volume composed of three programmatic spaces : parent/living, loggia and children’s areas. The plan intentionally requires the residents to go through the outside in order to move from one space to another, bringing them closer to their environment even during winter.

The loggia, extending between the two covered entrances to the living spaces, provides a screened exterior eating area, and allows access to the eastern exterior corridor whose composed colonnade recalls the trees of the forest. Formally, the project presents itself as a large monolithic form placed on site in a dramatic manner. Far from blending in with the landscape, the black mass contrasts with surrounding nature while creating effects of chiaroscuro that vary depending on the angle from which the chalet is approached.