T House By Natalie Dionne Architecture

Montreal-primarily based studio Natalie Dionne Architecture completed the T Home project in March 2013.

This 3,230 square foot country retreat is located Sutton, Quebec, Canada.

T Property by Natalie Dionne Architecture

“T Residence, a country retreat in Quebec’s Eastern Townships was developed by NDA for a busy urban Montreal family members. It is inspired from the writings of Pliny the Younger, whose sensual descriptions of two huge Italian villas dating back to antiquity stimulate the imagination and compels us to contemplate one’s spot in the surrounding landscape.

The house was placed in a forest clearing on a plateau high up on a hillside supplying gorgeous vistas to rolling agricultural valleys and distant mountains. Upon arrival, two sparsely fenestrated volumes reveal themselves as blocks gently deposited on a field of green. The very first volume, 2 –storey and roughly cubic in shape is clad with wood siding. The second, a single-storey 24m long rectangle, embedded in the ground at a single finish and cantilevered more than the hill at the other finish is wrapped in composite cement panels. The center of the composition is an empty space of transition amongst these two volumes: transparently opening onto a spectacular panorama of Appalachian mountain ridges with Mount Sutton peaking on the horizon.

Taking cues from its bucolic environment, this architecture is defined and modulated by the organic views, sunlight and the topography of the internet site. The home, its gardens, terraces and swimming pool, fostered a cruciform plan oriented along the North-South and East-West axes. In plan, the home revolves about 3 distinct parts arranged in the form of the letter ‘T’. One particular portion accommodates the living room, another, the guest rooms and a third houses the kitchen with the master bedroom upstairs. The dining area, the place of congregation that ties these with each other, lies at the crossroads of 3 cardinal vistas. To the east, the view opens onto the landscape of distant mountains and a wood deck, which takes benefit of the increasing sun. To the south, the central space extends to a mineral patio where a slender rectilinear pool leads to the hardwood forest. Lastly, to the west overlooking a water garden, we see the entrance and the green field with the woods that rise on the hill behind it. It is from this side that the dining area in the evening is bathed in the final rays of the sun.

The ambiance in the house is also greatly affected by the presence of water. The pool, the water garden, and the adjacent stream gently flowing to the pond under, supply a faint background accent of rustling water. Subtle lighting of these aqueous media in addition to the houses lighting makes the spot enchanting at night.

Finishing details, each interior and exterior, are the soul of the house. Constructed-in furnishings is designed with focus to detail and executed with precision, whether it’s the fireplace, bookshelves in the living area, butterfly doors leading to the guest bedrooms, kitchen furnishings (with its floating island apron ) bathroom cabinetry or the wooden shutters and the bed of the master bedroom. The identical care applies to exterior wall finishes of torrefied wood, cement board, Corten steel and white oak paneling which penetrate the interior. Likewise, continuity of horizontal surfaces in concrete, limestone and slate also assist to blur the boundaries in between outside and inside.

T Home, was created with state of the art technical specifications and is certified Novoclimat. A geothermal climate manage system has lowered dependency for energy resources in a rural setting. Fenestration was applied as a function of climate and orientation to make certain the comfort of each space in winter as effectively as in summer time. Vis-à-vis operable windows offer all-natural cross ventilation. To the north, the residence has few openings. To the south, the roof of the central space projects out over the patio just adequate to protect the lobby from overheating in the summer whilst enabling winter rays to penetrate and bring solar obtain. Concrete and natural stone flooring, preserve freshness in summer season exposed to direct sunlight and equipped with a hydronic heating method, they give ideal comfort for the duration of the cold seasons.”

Floor Plan
Site Strategy

Images by: Marc Cramer