Île d’Orléans on white background

Respect heritage, but assert its modernity. It is in this delicate balance that the architects of the Blouin Orzes firm designed the house on the island of Orléans, which stands in the changing landscape of the riverside, summer and winter.

Just downstream from Quebec, in the Saint-Laurent, lies the island of Orléans. It has a little mythical side, perhaps because we find a beautiful part of the province’s heritage there.

“The Isle of Orléans is the anchor point for many Quebec families,” says architect Marc Blouin, who himself has roots there: his French ancestor settled there years ago. many generations. After his great-grandfather, his grandfather then his father, it is he who has now inherited the family house. “My children spent all their summers there. I am very attached to the Île d’Orléans,” he continues.

Thanks to his very personal understanding of the place, Marc Blouin was the ideal architect to build a new house on the water’s edge, below Chemin Royal which connects the six villages of the island. The clients, a couple with two children, were looking to build a second home there which would soon become their main home when they retired. This project might seem very simple, but it nevertheless raised particular issues due to its location on the Île d’Orléans.

Harmonize with the built heritage

You should know that in 2018, shortly before the construction of the house, the Ministry of Culture and Communications of Quebec made public its Conservation Plan for Île d’Orléans. The goal: to provide guidelines for new construction on the island, so that they do not clash with the built heritage. Because even though it had been declared a heritage site in 1970, there was no real framework surrounding the new residences on Île d’Orléans.

Since this Conservation Plan had just seen the light of day when the Blouin Orzes firm began working on the project, several discussions and back and forths took place with the Ministry. “These were the first years of the application of the conservation plan, so there was still a form of running-in,” explains Marc Blouin.

“It was an enriching experience, but still a little difficult,” he admits. It even delayed the construction of the house by a year. » But after a lot of tight negotiations and hard work, the final result finally comes very close to the first sketches.

Today, they are pleased to have persevered, since the house won a Prize of Excellence from the Order of Architects of Quebec in 2020. A recognition that was well worth all the efforts put into the project!

Rural inspiration

As a starting point, the architects were inspired by the Félix-Goulet house, built around 1720 in Saint-Pierre-de-l’Île-d’Orléans. It constitutes a perfect example of the traditional architecture of the island, explains Marc Blouin.

“It’s a transposition of the French-inspired rural house,” he says. It has the sloping roof and rectangular plan which particularly characterized the first generation houses built on the island.

Another interesting element: the simple forms of the Félix-Goulet house are reminiscent, in a certain way, of the basic precepts of… modern architecture! “By definition itself, there was a purity of forms. So for us, it was clear that we wanted to move in that direction. »

Like many buildings of the time, the Félix-Goulet house had a rectangular plan to which was annexed an outbuilding, often used as a stable. The plan of the Île d’Orléans residence has these same characteristics, however adapted to modern life: in this case, the volume paired with the house serves as a garage and small workshop for the new owners. “So today’s outbuilding is a garage rather than a stable for the animals,” summarizes Marc Blouin. But the separation of uses is the same. »

To design the rest of the plan, the architects reinterpreted the traditional lines to meet today’s needs.

The block dedicated to the garage was detached from the main volume, creating an opening which includes the entrances to the two buildings, but which also opens onto the river.

The two volumes were then offset on their front-rear axis, which made it possible to create outdoor spaces covered on both sides: at the front for the entrance and at the rear for a terrace which overlooks the river. “But all this under one roof, inside a large rectangular plan which has approximately the same proportions as the Félix-Goulet house,” explains Marc Blouin. It’s a little geometric exercise that was quite fun to do, and it works quite well. »

Inside, we find this same simplicity in the layout. On the ground floor the kitchen, the dining room and a living room are grouped together in a large open space. Upstairs, the master suite on one side and the two children’s bedrooms on the other, connected by a passageway. In the center of the floor there is also a small mezzanine lounge, all under the sloping roof.

Leaning against the cliff, the house blends into the landscape throughout the seasons. With winter setting in, its white covering will fit into its environment more than ever, offering the interior a little cocoon that’s even warmer.

Visit the Blouin Orzes architects website