Contre-jour

In the Eastern Townships, on the border between forest and meadow, “Contre-jour” was built—an all-black country house set against the luminous landscape.

The house consists of three separate structures:

-the garage, a rectangular, low-ceilinged space, unheated and isolated from the main house

-the main residence, composed of three successive levels, houses the living areas (kitchen, dining room, living room, entry hall) and the children’s bedrooms within a vast rectangular space with large windows.

-the guest wing, a building reserved for guests and their visitors, extends in the background over two levels to provide maximum privacy for each suite and an elevated view from the master bedroom.

A glass walkway connects the guest wing to the main residence, allowing the owners and their guests to retreat into tranquility and nature, facing the forest, without being disturbed by the more festive activities confined to the day wing.

Built perpendicular to the slope of the land, the main house takes advantage of the elevation to offer a succession of living spaces, each with its own distinct character despite their interconnectedness. This division of the house into a series of terraces provides constant contact between the living spaces and the ground, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior.

Designed for rest and contemplation in nature, but also to welcome family and friends around the large dining table, the house unfolds across its grounds, creating a series of interlocking indoor and outdoor spaces that blur the boundaries between architecture and nature.

A horizontal composition, a black line drawn across the vast prairie landscape, playing with backlighting, framing the natural panorama before it through its large glass panels, its dark ipe wood floor, and its black ceiling, in an aesthetic characteristic of painting—that of chiaroscuro and backlighting.