Armstrong Cottage

Designed as an off-grid, net-zero family relaxation destination, this project presented the opportunity for a young Toronto-based family to rekindle nostalgic childhood memories by designing a cottage on the lake they had spent their summer months as children.

The commissioning of barges, the construction of docks capable of rising and falling with the seasonal lake water level changes, and organizing the transportation of heavy machinery over the frozen ice during the winter months kept our design team engaged and anxiously awaiting whatever new obstacle might reveal itself as the project progressed through construction.

The resulting built volumes engage with the natural environment while remaining light on the land and sensitive to the native ecosystem.

In this way, the building appears to hover within the tree canopy while allowing the natural landscape to slip below.

This construction strategy drastically decreased the amount of concrete required for the project, which was beneficial given the isolated nature of the project and the toxic qualities concrete might have introduced into the fertile topsoil found on the island.

What resulted was wood and steel beams, lam beam rigid frames, wood and steel hip members, and wood rafters that could be transported to the site by barge, then easily assembled on site with steel plates and bolts.