Residence on a 84 acres land with private lake
Lac du Castor Villa
Completion date
2001
Project manager
Mario Patenaude
Photos
André Doyon (indoors)
Philippe Saharof (indoors)
Scott Gilchrist (outdoors)
![05 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR (cover)](DATA/REALISATION/70_large.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_1920x800_bg.jpg)
Thrown in among other rooms, we are surprised to find a bathroom of white marble and a kitchen fitted out in gleaming stainless steel, both so unusual in this setting.
![07 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/72_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
![06 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/71_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
![10 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/75_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
But here the interest is in this very act of “forgetting” conventions, according to which excessive refinement would not suit the general spirit of a cottage deep in the woods. It is a shift away from the expected.
![11 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/76_large.jpg)
![01 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/66_950x800.jpg)
Contrast is everywhere. An elaborate oriental rug under a colonnade of trees. A small hand-made chair, placed like a sculpture in an alcove where it acquires unexpected importance.
As René Desjardins so aptly put it:
“Why should the fact that we’re sharing an environment with bears and beavers inevitably lead to a more primitive way of living?”
![08 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/73_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
![04 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/69_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
![14 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR](DATA/REALISATION/78_950x800.jpg)
![Desjardins Bherer](gx/00/defaut_950x800_bg.jpg)
The most contemporary suspended fixture lighting an entirely authentic wood stove. Where we might have expected oil lamps, the YaYaHo fixture by Ingo Maurer runs through the space on a steel cord. Choose bare walls, low-key furniture and an absence of decorative objects, and filter the sunshine through industrial blinds that fall from the ceiling when needed.
![05 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR (cover) - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/70_x800.jpg)
![07 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/72_x800.jpg)
![06 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/71_x800.jpg)
![10 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/75_x800.jpg)
![11 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/76_x800.jpg)
![01 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/66_x800.jpg)
![08 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/73_x800.jpg)
![04 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/69_x800.jpg)
![14 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/78_x800.jpg)
![13 VILLA LAC DU CASTOR - Desjardins Bherer](DATA/REALISATION/77_x800.jpg)
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10Modesty and simplicity reign throughout, with one exception: the bookshelves in the study, in an explosive red, are a welcome relief, like explosive laughter in a conversation that has become too serious.
Collaborator: Pierre Thibault architecte