Aperture
A house that hovers among the trees.
The homeowners moved to Nova Scotia from Ottawa, drawn to a forested waterfront property. Before construction began, they camped on the land in their small Airstream. Avid scuba divers, they wanted a home as at home on the water as in the forest. They brought a small collection of colourful glass light fixtures and furniture, pieces to be woven into the design rather than designed around.
The site didn't make it easy. Once cleared, it revealed solid granite boulders and drops of up to 20 feet. From our first visit, we wanted the house to feel as if it were hovering among the trees. Lifting it onto steel posts anchored to bedrock solved both at once, turning the site's biggest obstacle into the project's defining idea.
The 1,600 sq ft home and its separate garage are joined by a shared deck. Keeping the garage apart does two jobs. It sits outside the Passive House envelope, and the gap between the two buildings frames a first glimpse of the water as you arrive. The house holds the view back, then reveals it.
Inside, the plan moves from low to high. The entry, mudroom, laundry and storage run along the driveway under a lower ceiling. Then the single-sloped roof lifts toward the water. Under its tall end, the living, dining and kitchen spaces are large and open, and a tall sliding glass door draws the light out to the view. The other rooms are kept small on purpose, so the open heart of the home feels even more generous.
That view faces east, the hardest direction for a Passive House heat-loss budget. We chose the view anyway, then used triple glazing and detailed energy modelling to limit the cost.
The black metal cladding takes its colour from the bark of the surrounding trees, so from the water the house fades into the forest. Along the driveway, the roof folds down to become the wall: solid, almost like a fortress. On the deck side, it gives way to glass and wood. Inside, simple, warm finishes let the homeowners' colourful glass shine.
Location: Aspotogan Peninsula, Nova Scotia
Type: New High-Performance Construction
Builder: Drumlin Built
Structural Engineer: Doncaster Engineering
Civil & Septic Engineering: Able Engineering
Geotechnical: Adaptive Geotechnical
Windows & Doors: Vetta Windows
Photography: Graeme Mesheau
