Rougeaud Residence by DKA
Rougeaud Residence is a house in Mont-Blanc, Canada, by DKA. In the Laurentians, it sits on a rugged, wooded site and uses a restrained form to settle into the landscape rather than stand apart from it.
About Rougeaud Residence
Located in the Laurentians, this residence is designed for a family seeking retreat from the everyday rush, with an understated architecture that blends into its natural surroundings.
Set within dense vegetation on a rugged site, the project reveals itself gradually from the access road through a carefully choreographed sequence. The siting strategy minimizes deforestation and preserves the existing ecosystem, so the house settles into the landscape rather than competing with it.
The design reinterprets Quebec’s vernacular architecture by drawing on the archetypal gabled house. A simple rectangular volume with a pitched roof is reworked as three distinct entities, positioned to frame two visual corridors toward the lake.
That division also strengthens function and creates varied relationships to the surrounding terrain. A restrained material palette supports the project’s simplicity and contextual sensitivity, while the separation between the garage and the main entrance creates a covered passageway that offers a first glimpse of the water.
Inside, a peripheral circulation axis allows movement to flow through the home. As one progresses, openings widen and blur the line between interior and exterior; the common areas extend toward the covered terrace of the third volume, where the fireplace anchors the social rooms and gives the kitchen, dining area, and living room a clear center.
Wooden ceilings add warmth and a sense of grounding. On the lower level, the mood shifts: conceived as a single, more intimate volume, the garden floor contains the retreat spaces, where darker finishes and large openings frame views and let nature enter the private rooms.
Materials echo the surrounding landscape and catch changing shades throughout the day as light moves across the surfaces. The result is an architecture of restraint, one that recedes so the site stays in view while still giving the family comfort, fluidity, and retreat.
Photography by Josee Marino Photographe, Maxime Bourgault
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