Located in Quebec’s Bois-Francs municipality, the Les Abouts Residence (pronounced “Ah-boo”) is an inviting home that’s immersed in its natural surroundings. Completed in 2005 and designed by the talented and brilliant minds at Atelier Pierre Thibault, the origins of the home’s name “Les Abouts” trace back to the childhood farms of its two occupants. In French, the name translates to ‘the far end’.
After multiple years abroad away from their childhood property, the owners decided to invest in the land that they inherited, and build a secondary residence on the lot.
In its simple, but charming and rustic basic form, it’s reminiscent of Phillip Johnson’s famous Glass House, which similarly to Les Abouts Residence, has large bay windows spanning the facades of the house, making for a huge viewing window into the outside.
Atelier Pierre Thibault however, takes this one step further by substituting the windows for fine mesh screens, allowing the sounds and breeze to wander into, and through the living room. By doing this, the architects achieved blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors, while maintaining a warm cozy space inside, away from pesky mosquitoes and other creepy crawlers.
The result is innovative and the experience inside is uniquely organic. Even at a glance, it’s apparent that this architectural conception does not simply relate to its surrounding wilderness, it is married to it!
As you can see in the picture below, the building site is amid dense woods and calls for a response to the environment to engage with it. Atelier Pierre Thibault did much more than respond to the forest – they invited it indoors. Even some trees are playfully incorporated in the design, weaving their way through the structure, and sharing their roots with the home.
The interior style is endearingly rustic, down to the wooden detail designs of the furniture, referencing nature and earthiness from floor to ceiling.
Seeing as the residents are art enthusiasts, their home was designed to be open and spacious, meant to showcase art collections, resembling a gallery-esque type space.
This home is such a gift for both its occupants and its environment. Atelier Pierre Thibault’s Les Abouts Residence raises the bar of awareness and thoughtfulness in construction, and in responsibly preserving our environment.
To learn more about this firm and their other projects, visit Atelier Pierre Thibault, and check out our past posts on this amazing firm:
Atelier Pierre Thibault Transforms Les Jumelles In Lac Brome, Quebec
Quebec’s La Maison Haute By Atelier Pierre Thibault
La Grande Passerelle By Atelier Pierre Thibault In Quebec
Le Lupin By Atelier Pierre Thibault In Quebec
Interested in seeing more nature projects like this one? Check out these canadianrealestatehousingandhome.ca articles:
Modern Cabin In The Rocky Mountain Trench
YH2’s ‘Hanging’ Vacation Home In Quebec
Photos courtesy of Alain Laforest.
Researched and Written by Mikhail Shchupak-Katsman, Undergraduate Environmental Design, OCAD University
