‘The Sisters’ Architecture Project in Canada Combines Old and New

Canada-based Anik Péloquin architecte took the challenge of upgrading a small house on a secluded lakeside lot in La Malbaie, in the province of Quebec.

Because it would have been very expensive to renovate the house, the architect decided to opt for a new construction instead. The existing dwelling would remain standing as the “big sister” bearing witness to the history of the place. It would become a bunkhouse for guests.

The new house – the “little sister” – is clad in tamarack. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and lounge areas. Its size is modest, and the unique shape of the roof meets the owners’ requirements while harmonizing with the big sister and the landscape. The volume, scaled appropriately to the site, becomes an ideal setting for the lives that unfold here, both indoors and out.

To the east and north, the roof rises steeply to the ridge board, more than 25 feet off the ground, echoing the surrounding trees and a church steeple, evoking the site’s history.

Inside, the edges defined by the roof shape the volumes of the living room and the master bedroom, the only room on the second floor. White-stained pine softly diffuses the light. How do you appreciate this architecture intervention in Canada? Information and photography provided by Anik Péloquin architecte.