Yh2 Architecture

La Colombière

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

LA COLOMBIÈRE

yh2

PHOTOGRAPHS
Francis Pelletier

LEAD ARCHITECT
Loukas Yiacouvakis

MANUFACTURERS
Alumilex, Ikea, Enviroshake

AREA
120 m²

CATEGORY
Houses

LOCATION
Canada

YEAR
2014

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

Text description provided by architect.

Initially built as a small storage space by the previous owner, who was a lumberman, the building has been rearranged into a forest refuge by its new owner.

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

La Colombière (Dovery) thus represents the completion and third phase of this simple one-story construction into a true retreat expanding on three floors.

In an attempt to preserve the surrounding nature, the footprint of the building remained untouched. This new phase inspired itself from the natural growth of trees.

The link of the tree/house to the soil remains the same while growing vertically and developing an aerial volume based on the tree canopies.

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

By following such principles, the extension was done without any trees being cut or heavy machinery, which could have spoiled the natural environment offered by the forest.

Recalling the bark of the tall surrounding conifer, the exterior volume is covered in dark cedar. La Colombière’s vertiginous interior is a space painted all in white.

Materials and structure of the previous phase are kept and uninterrupted so that the addition acts as an extension rather than an insertion.

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

On the ground floor, a simple space with exposed structure offers a direct link between rooms and with the forest’s soil.

On the upper floors, each room opens into a vast vertical shaft punctured by an ultralight stairwell, an aerial structure.

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier

On the last floor, an exterior covered terrace acts as white perch from where admire the surroundings. La Colombière is a refuge perched in the forest reminding us of bird huts.

La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier
La Colombière
© Francis Pelletier


                          

La Colombière
Floor Plans
La Colombière
North South Elevation
La Colombière
East West Elevation
La Colombière
Sections
La Colombière
3D Interior
La Colombière
3D Exterior
La Colombière
Implantation Plan

Yh2 Architecture
T +1 514 2727592
Yh2 Architecture
6960 Henri Julien Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2S 0C7, Canada