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Since moving in three years ago, the family has adapted to the smaller size of the home, especially as the children have become teenagers. “There's a shed outside that was for our gardening tools and surf boards and stuff, and we've just converted that into a living room for them,” says Maclean.

The original design did not exploit the lower part of the house, so Carle added a bar and lounge area facing the lake at the ground level. He also installed water-based geothermal heating in the basement. “It allows the concrete floor to be heated and to generate most of the heating of the house, while a second smaller air pump assures a supplement of air on the ground floor and air conditioning for summer.”

In rural Canada, an architect imports an American typology to create a year-round refuge rooted in the landscape.

South west close rear view from prairie

Glass box cantilever and large Douglas fir overhangs