La Cadrée Perchee, a solution to the seasonal blues

06 Dec 2022

Located in the mountains in a maple grove, La Cadrée Perchée is a house that offers a daily light therapy experience.

Photo credit: Pier-Olivier Lepage

Located in the mountains in a maple grove, La Cadrée Perchée is a house that offers a daily light therapy experience. It is designed to enhance the landscape and interact with light. Its volumetry made of frames allows the light to reflect on a moving surface, the wood. This material alone ensures a monochrome and transparent environment that showcases the seasons as the main decorative element. This minimalist approach proposed by L’Empreinte Design Architecture allows users to keep the emphasis on nature and its vital energy.

No more lack of light

To meet the need for light therapy, the design challenge for this house was to find a way to maximize the contribution of the sun while avoiding overheating. The shape of La Cadrée Perchée was inspired by the principle of a radiator to increase the diffusion surface of its outer walls. These walls absorb the heat and reflect the light towards the interior of the windows giving the illusion of sunshine in the house.

Photo credit: Pier-Olivier Lepage

Live above the trees

The design of La Cadrée Perchée is part of the outdooring philosophy and encourages users to enjoy the four seasons. Two terraces adjoin the heart of the house and connect it to the great outdoors. These terraces are set up in alcoves sheltered from bad weather and facilitate access to outdoor environments. To enrich the views of the forest, the side of the mountain was used to perch the house at the top of the trees as well as at ground level. These viewpoints have been oriented to highlight the favourite times of the day such as sunrise and sunset.

To preserve the panorama

The whole house is configured to maintain visibility through the facade and reduce the impact on the landscape. To obstruct the transparency of the house as little as possible, low-profile furniture was put forward such as a built-in sofa, a minimalist kitchen and storage units grouped into traffic islands. Other attributes also contribute to the subtlety of the boundary between interior and exterior: the perfectly arranged wood, the glass without mullions and the white floors.

An option for the recession

The project bears witness to economical and artisanal solutions such as the ceiling entirely made of furring strips (in openwork, planed and stained wood) and the exterior cladding made of fence boards (in treated wood, openwork, with intramural membrane). It also suggests a hyper-functional and hyper-friendly space despite the limited surface area. The kitchen has an island that serves as a daily dining table. The living room inspired by Japanese kotatsu allows a group to enjoy optimal comfort for an entire evening around a fire, a movie or dinner. The bedroom responds to the desire of users to have a private living space conducive to rest, work or relaxation. This space includes a bed, an integrated desk and a bathtub facing a wall window overlooking the forest.

This coherent and unique project pays homage to nature and preserves it thanks to a delicate insertion and a minimalist design. It fits perfectly into the ecological philosophy of L’Empreinte Design Architecture.

Technical sheet

  • Projet Name: La Cadrée Perchée
  • Location: Morin-Heights, Qc, Canada
  • Project type: New construction - residential 
  • Architecture and Design: L'Empreinte Design Architecture
  • Projet Manager: Pier-Olivier Lepage
  • Suppliers: Alumilex (windows), Industries Dorr (interior doors), Noréa Foyers (fireplace), Goodfellow (treated wood), Ciot (plumbing)
  • Project completion date: August 2022