Le Grand Plateau by Atelier Pierre Thibault

Description of the project by Atelier Pierre Thibault.

On our first visit to Lake Heron in the Laurentides, we ended up in a forest enflamed by fall. We borrowed a small path to reach the top of the site where we found a clearing atop a promontory. We could contemplate the lake which was about 60 meters below. Small but sinuous, it gave the impression that a meander hid the invisible part of a larger lake.

The silhouette of the mountains loomed in the distance. The scenery was of immense beauty. We all gasped discovering the site that day. We went down quietly through different ecosystems dotted with magnificent rocks. I remember a small forest of spruces with a constricted path that caused a rhythmic vertical which filtered the horizontality of the water.

From the lake, we could see the promontory that we had visited earlier on. As soon as the first sketches were drawn, the idea was to create a plateau where we could enjoy the view. This large terrace captures the sun as well as has a view of the lake. Unaware that the home is below, it is accessed from the top. This surface therefore serves as roofing. The needs of the house are based on a lower plane, placed on very thin columns to give the impression that the inhabited space floats, almost as if in levitation.

The structural frame consists of nine squares each four meters large and wide. We access the house at street level. We then follow a walkway on the side to reach a small outdoor terrace. We can then enter the heart of the home. The rooms are located on the hillside while the other rooms benefit from the opening of the landscape that seems amplified by large windows. The location and the simple volume of the Grand Plateau make it a place where you can enjoy a new perspective on the lake.