Holiday home in Canadian wilderness by UCArchitect has simplicity and style

In a vast, natural lake-side weekend resort of Lake Seymour in Marmora, mid-way between Toronto and Ottawa, a new home by Toronto-based UCArchitect puts the emphasis on sustainability and the outdoors.

Working out from the inside core of the house - the bathroom and kitchen – the surrounding space is then framed by a wide wooden deck around the outside of the property. The exterior envelope of cedar and metal roofing has no windows, only large glass sliding doors onto the wrap-around deck.

The central core splits the living area into a living-dining area to the south-west, and study and bedroom to the north-east. Areas can be opened up or closed for privacy with sliding maple “pocket” doors. The interiors feature custom-made cabinets, with kitchen counters are made of black Corian

The eco-friendly features of the building include passive solar design and radiant floor heating embedded within pigmented poured concrete. The oven is a rotating real fire stove that moves 360 degrees around a concrete pillar in the heart of the house, offering views of flames from anywhere in the house.

Large windows over the water, insulated wooden walls, a natural stone bathroom and skylights to the clouds mean that nature is ever-present.

Not far from a narrow access road, but suitably hidden away, the house is aimed at city-dwellers looking for the simple-life second property.