LAKESIDE LUXURY

This contemporary summer retreat in a small remote town close to Ontario, Canada, is an architectural statement that melds elegant design, technology and sustainability with a natural setting. MICHELLE LEE delves into its design strategies.

- MICHELLE LEE

A reinterpretation of the classic country vacation home by Cape Town-based architecture firm SAOTA, this family getaway set against the bucolic landscape of Lake Huron is a lesson in contemporary glamour. Sitting on a lakeside that bridges the forest and water, and rising 3.5m above the road before it dips down towards the lake, it is strategically positioned to maximise the vista of the natural landscape.

The building exterior is dressed in a mix of light and dark tones, and clad with durable ceramic panels that can withstand the extremes of the Canadian climate. Conceptualised to resemble stacked concrete boxes, it creates a unique shadow play on the facade and inside.