TREETOP RETREAT

High off the ground, this cantilevered cabin towers over lush Quebec land

- Isabel B. Slone

IN 2007, ARCHITECT PAUL KARIOUK set out to build a remote weekend getaway home. He and his husband, Antonio Gioventu, the executive director of a non-profit, lived in a loft-style studio apartment in Ottawa. They wanted their new home to be nearby, preferably somewhere quiet, so they acquired a 17-acre lakeside lot in La Pêche, Quebec. "In a world where everything is buzzing, beeping, humming and ringing, silence is the ultimate luxury," Kariouk says.

He immediately began mapping out a compact, three-bedroom, 900-square-foot residence that could serve as both a refuge and a calling card to show clients what he could do with a limited budget. "I wanted to demonstrate that they could have something spectacular with a smaller footprint," he says. To design his home, he looked upward, envisioning a stark, cantilevered cabin six storeys above the ground.