Location: Algonquin Highlands, Ontario

Architecture Practices: Reasonable Projects Inc.

The Angle of Repose house is conceived as an eloquent sculptural object strategically sited on a wooded property overlooking Hindon Lake.

Commissioned by a professor of art history who supports contemporary architecture, the brief was to design a unique home to the highest level of sustainability. The strong architectural vision was realized through digital fabrication of a mass-timber structure. Two vernacular gable elevations of varying proportion are lofted across a trapezoidal plan, and the roof peak is lowered from east to west, creating a hyperbolic-paraboloid roof. The final form subverts conventional residential references with dynamic perspective effects, creating an experience at once familiar and surprising. The thick walls, punctured by deep-set fenestration, express a primary driver of the house’s performance and help render it visually inscrutable, following the client’s directive. Monolithic black metal-shingle cladding reinforces the house’s sculptural aspect.

 

Jury Comments

“The elusive form and cladding of the house subvert conventional ideas of the Canadian cottage. The luminous and warm interior spaces mark a powerful contrast with the beautiful, brooding exterior."

 

Check out our BLOAAg article for more information.

Publish Date : 2026/Jun/15