Beach House: Lake Archambault Residence — Light, Lake, and Line in Sun
Beach House: Lake Archambault Residence sits on the shore of Lake Archambault in Québec, Canada, a new house by Ghoche architecte. Composed as a low, quiet arrangement of volumes, the project turns to light, water, and native planting rather than overt expression. The result reads as a clear coastal gesture tuned to a northern lake climate.
Morning pours across the lake and skims the pale cladding. A low veranda traces a horizontal line that holds the eye to water, sun, and shore.
This is a house in Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm, set directly on Lake Archambault and conceived by Ghoche architecte. The composition stays deliberately quiet, favoring compact volumes, broad openings, and a measured palette to temper glare and amplify views. Context drives the choices: light, orientation, and the red sand beach shape how the rooms meet the outdoors.
Tune Light and View
White, pre-finished wood cladding reflects strong sun and softens heat on a site with little natural shade. Oak-tinted window frames cut warmth into the facade, drawing the gaze to the horizon while avoiding visual noise across the shoreline. Openings stack toward the lake to pull daylight deep inside and keep sightlines clear from living rooms to the water. Simple shapes do the climate work.
Extend Life Outdoors
A generous veranda links to a pergola with an exposed wood frame, building a shaded edge where interior life slips outside. The long, horizontal gesture keeps the house low against the terrain and turns daily routines—coffee, reading, rinsing gear—into moments within breeze and filtered light. These intermediate zones temper midday glare and stage evening shade for late dinners by the shore.
Work With the Shore
The plan respects the site’s natural grade and the red sand beach, letting the approach unfold without heavy terracing. Native plant species knit the house to its setting, supporting biodiversity while reducing maintenance and irrigation. Paths remain modest, so sand, needles, and lake water carry inside as lived textures (a welcome reminder of place). The footprint stays compact and visually recessive.
Carry Materials Within
Inside, continuity steadies the rooms: light wood, white surfaces, and concrete establish a calm, durable baseline for year-round use. The palette travels from exterior to interior to compress the threshold and keep focus on sun and water rather than surface changes. Concrete floors store daytime warmth and cool underfoot in summer, while pale walls rebound light in shorter winter days. Materials do their share quietly.
Keep Volume Simple
Cubical forms with flat roofs reduce visual impact and read as a small assembly rather than a single mass. This restrained volumetry reduces exposed perimeter and simplifies shading, gutters, and drainage during freeze-thaw cycles. The silhouette stays low, so sky, tree line, and lake carry the view. Nothing competes with the shore.
By afternoon, shadows from the pergola stripe the veranda and slip across the pale cladding. The house settles into the long light, its measured lines holding steady against wind and reflection. Quiet, durable, and tuned to the place, it lets the lake do the talking.
Photography by Maxime Brouillet
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