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Hurteau-Miller Cottage by Kariouk Associates

By Eric Meunier

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Ottawa-based studio Kariouk Associates has completed the Hurteau-Miller project in 2010.

Located in Val-des-Monts, Québec in Canada, this single-family cottage is designed for a couple with a young son; the residence will serve as a center-point for the gatherings of a greatly extended family and will one day become the family’s primary residence.

Hurteau-Miller Cottage by Kariouk Associates:

“The challenge was to implement an architectural strategy that breaks down very large programmatic requirements and, as a result, the seeming bigness of the proposed home.

The spatial system therefore is conceived as a porous and open ground-floor that supports a solid, “private” volume above. All of the primary living and communal functions, such as the indoor and outdoor living rooms, kitchen and eating area, and sauna open either literally or volumetrically to the surrounding lakeshore.


The master bedroom suite is also placed on the ground floor since the house is meant to be a home for a lifetime and issues of future accessibility are thus addressed. The upper volume, a heavier wooden box clad of Western Red cedar, is cradled by the seemingly delicate armature below and houses spaces that are introverted, namely the son’s bedroom and guest sleeping areas.

This dropping of the second-floor volume into the ground-floor level is meant to create spatial interest and intimacy throughout the large, communal areas of the interior while minimizing the house’s overall size from the exterior.”


Photos by: Photolux Studios, Christophe Lalonde

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About Eric Meunier

Currently the Owner and Chief Executive of HODYO Design, Eric Meunier's expertise in the design industry spreads over 20 years. He was the driving force behind HomeDSGN's early success, founding this website in 2011. Today, he loves to channel his passion for design into remodeling houses and transforming interior spaces with his keen eye for detail and architectural finesse. Learn more about HomeDSGN's Editorial Process.

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