STILL WATERS

This sustainable home on Lake Huron near London, Ontario is anything but your traditional Canadian country cabin, extending the possibilities of a family lakeside retreat

- GRAHAM WOOD

THIS summer house is set on the banks of Lake Huron in a small, remote Canadian town about an hour’s drive from London, Ontario. While the architectural context might be characterised as somewhat conservative ‘cabin country’, this house attempts to extend the possibilities of the traditional lakeside family retreat through a contemporary architectural approach, harnessing recent developments in design, technology and sustainability to connect meaningfully with its beautiful natural setting while exploring new ways of enhancing the lifestyle experience of the family summer getaway.

While the aesthetic approach that Cape Town-based architecture firm SAOTA took may seem a radical departure from the traditional regional vernacular, the architects have taken great care to keep the design unobtrusive and sensitive to its setting.