House on the Pond by Atelier Échelle
House on the Pond is a house designed by Atelier Échelle and located in Austin, Canada. The architect envisions a compact yet luxurious design. The building maximizes covered terraces, which house various outdoor spaces to accommodate different temperatures and activities.
Complementary Indian Housing Project
House on the Pond is designed as a secondary dwelling for a family of four to complement the client’s ancestral home at the same property. In favorable seasons, it doubles up as a cabana for the pond nearby. Envisioned as a jewel box of sorts, the design is flexibly compact but luxurious at the same time.
Compact Footprint Balanced With Generous Outdoor Spaces
The local regulations required that the building footprint does not exceed 50 sqm and the mezzanine only to be a maximum of 20 sqm. To work around the tight size constraints, Atelier Échelle maximized the covered terraces, nesting interior spaces on three sides. To the east is a sunken seating around a fire-pit for cooler nights. To the north, a gallery links all the rooms and serves as a passage towards the pond. To the west is an 8-seat al fresco dining area that can be opened and joined with the main living room. The mezzanine level houses the primary bedroom and extends over the sunken seating, so that the entire living area is reserved by a double-height space.
Rooms On The Lowest Floor Carved Into The Ground
Supported on a foundation of insulated concrete blocks, the building carves the lowest floor level into the ground. Lit by a band of clerestory windows, the basement houses the children’s bunk room, TV lounge, and bathroom.
Architecture Experienced Differently Through Change In Seasons
Designed as an intersection of vistas with a porous perimeter, the architecture itself is experienced differently with the passage of time and change in seasons. To invite as much sunlight in as possible, the building’s south side is fixed glass for maximum transparency and the north side, which gives to the exterior gallery is lined with operable glass walls. The expansive view through the adjacent farm to the distant mountains invites the natural landscape into the home while a wood burning fire lends a sense of warmth and coziness.
Photography by Maxime Brouillet
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