FOREST HOUSE II

Located north of Barrie, Ontario on a five-acre forested site, is this small house which embraces the idea of going “back to nature” and being “one with the forest”. With this in mind, we felt the house should merge with its surroundings, while having little intrusion into the existing ecosystem. The path for the meandering driveway was designed to avoid cutting down trees, and a natural clearing within the forest became the site for the detached garage – a buried mound of earth from which only the glass garage door is visible. From the garage, a narrow gravel path edged with large rocks leads to the house.

The house itself is conceived of as a “giant boulder” in the forest, with moss-covered, stepped and splayed walls of sandblasted concrete block forming its exterior materials. The closed, energy efficient, north facing entrance facade with its sunken forecourt is narrow, made primarily from translucent glass with horizontal wood screens. Unlike the front of the house, the house’s backside is open, like a cave, allowing the warm southern sunlight to penetrate deep into its interior.

Internally, the house is split into two angled halves with sunken living/dining rooms to the east and circulation stair/kitchen/screened porch to the west. Upstairs, a single loft bedroom overlooks the living room, with its ensuite strategically screened from the front entrance of the exterior forecourt below.

Two wooden decks, on the first and second storeys of the house (south side), provide additional space for outdoor entertaining with ample room to relax and enjoy the distant views and sounds of the surrounding forest.

LOCATION: Craighurst, Ontario

ARCHITECT: LINEVISION Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Principal-in-Charge of Design

CLIENT: Withheld

STATISTICS:

• No. of storeys: 2
• Ground floor area:
  1,235 ft2 (115 m2)
• Second floor area:
  685 ft2 (63 m2)
• Total floor area:
  1,920 ft2 (178 m2)

MATERIALS:

• Stepped concrete block (sandblasted)
• Vertical tongue & groove cedar siding
• Silver curtain wall windows & doors
• DensDeck soffits (white)
• Composite wood decking (grey)
• Concrete benches + landscape walls
• Maple hardwood floors

GENERAL PROGRAM:

• Sunken entrance forecourt
• Open concept living/dining room
• Kitchen/pantry
• 1 fireplace
• Screened outdoor living/dining room
• Outdoor decks (ground & second floors)
• Loft master bedroom + ensuite
• Office
• Detached 2-car garage
  (earth mound in the forest)

COST: Withheld

COMPLETION: Project