SAOTA’s First Completed Project in Canada

WORDS Cheri Morris IMAGES Adam Letch

Local architecture and design studio SAOTA has completed its first project in Canada, an ultra-modern summer house located on the banks of Lake Huron.

The contemporary design, a culmination of recent developments in design, technology and sustainability, attempts to look beyond the idea of traditional lakeside retreats.

Upon approach, Lake Huron appears as a simple stone box hovering weightlessly between fir trees. At the rear, facing the lake, the house dissolves into a double-storey wall of glass that draws natural light deep into interiors, created by local interior design studio, ARRCC, where fluid spaces are dressed in earthy hues.

The “engine room” on the lowest floor features a commercial-grade Building Automation System (BAS) that controls and monitors the home, ensuring continuous optimum performance. A 15kw solar array not only sustains the home, but regularly feeds excess power back into the utility grid for later use too. An underground stormwater system that can handle a 100-year storm and an eco-flo septic system are the finishing touches that make this contemporary home as sustainable as it is luxurious.

Love this space? Check out this lakeside home by SAOTA in Geneva, Switzerland.