Nicolas Robitaille met Pierre-Luc Routhier when they were kids, tied together by mutual interests that bonded them into adulthood. “We've always shared a love for nature, building things, and dreaming up wild ideas,” Nicolas says.

One day, Nicolas had one of those wild ideas while they were on a camping trip beside a lake. He joked about pulling Pierre-Luc’s air mattress out onto the water while he was sleeping, pranking him to the point of waking up on a floating island. “We laughed, but that image stuck with us,” Nicolas remembers. “The idea of floating cabins came out of that—playful at first, but then it started to make sense. Why not create something unusual, something that would let people experience nature differently?”

With that image in mind, the pair created Bora Boréal, a collection of floating cabins available to rent through all four seasons. The first two opened in April of 2020, and because of their off-grid features, were allowed to operate through the pandemic. They’re set in a dense forest in the La Jacques-Cartier territory not far from Quebec City, where trees tower over the water filling the base of a valley. Three years later, Nicolas partnered with Chantal Bourgault to open six more units in the Eastern Townships, and four more with enough space for large families have been added since. Currently, there are a dozen cabins floating on lakes that can sleep up to six, ready for anyone who shares the cofounders’ love of the outdoors.

“For me, it wasn’t enough to be near the lake,” Nicolas says. “I wanted people to live with it. When a cabin floats, you don’t just admire the water — you become part of it. You feel its rhythm. You see the sun reflecting off it in the morning, and at night, you hear the loons calling across it. That intimacy changes your relationship with the landscape.”

Nicolas and Pierre-Luc partnered with Agence Spatiale, a Québec architecture firm, to design cabins that could comfortably welcome guests in the middle of summer, the dead of winter, and every element in between. The cabins are supported by non-toxic HDPE barrels that can float in all conditions, and closed in by local wood and recycled insulation. The cofounders chose metal for the roofs, and outfitted them with solar panels for total off-grid independence. There are wood stoves and propane heaters inside, as well as compostable toilets. But perhaps the best feature—at least the one that puts guests front and center with the outdoors—is the garage door that opens to the views.

“The cabins have an upstairs bedroom, which helps keep the sleeping area warm in winter while maintaining an open living area downstairs,” Nicolas says. “Thanks to the wood stove and propane heaters inside, this opening can be enjoyed year-round, whether basking in summer sun or feeling the crisp air of winter while staying cozy indoors.”

“Water is such a central part of life here. It’s where families gather, where we disconnect from the noise.”
—Nicolas Robitaille, Bora Boréal cofounder

A lot of testing went into the cabins’ construction to make sure that they were actually comfortable in every season, particularly when the lakes freeze over and the temperature can be as low as negative four degrees Fahrenheit. The spring winds can be strong, so much so that an early prototype drifted across the lake, and summer heat can reach 90 degrees.

Nicolas says that a lot of the behind-the-scenes decisions came down to his community, and the relationships he’s built throughout his life. After all, this is where he still lives with his family. “Construction was carried out by Constructif, led by Stéphane Ledoux, who happens to be the husband of Chantal, my cofounder in the Eastern Townships,” he says. “It’s been a deeply local, family-rooted collaboration.”

He hopes that visitors feel that sense of connection, too, whether it’s with others on the lake or with nature itself. Either way, the cabins exist so that everyone who comes to them gets to slow down. “We provide kayaks, paddle boards, and snowshoes in winter, but honestly, the real luxury we offer is the space to breathe, the kind you don’t often find anymore,” Nicolas says. “We hope people come here to unplug and just be.”

Related Reading:

20 Impressive Floating Homes That Go With the Flow

A Designer Builds a Scandinavian-Inspired Sauna That Floats Off the Maine Coast

Project Details:

Architect of Record: Agence Spatiale

Builder: Constructif

Other: Turbulences