The pair of rentable Forest Glamp cabins were completed as part of hospitality concept Réflexion, and are located in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François – a popular ski destination roughly an hour outside Quebec City.
Bourgeois Lechasseur Architects built the pair of glamping cabins in Quebec
The project follows Bourgeois Lechasseur's previous work on glamping or short-term rental projects in the region, and the studio sees this a continuation of the same type of work.
"The challenge for the architects was to engage guests in an intimate relationship with nature, rather than dazzle them with the overwhelming views nearby," said Bourgeois Lechasseur. "Key to the design was a focus on creating accommodations that would almost disappear among the trees."
The cabins were constructed using wood that was stained black across the exterior
The black wooden cabins have identical layouts and are placed back-to-back roughly 50 metres apart, ensuring guests' privacy.
Each of the structures contains two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchenette, and an open living and dining area with a fireplace.
Reflective glass stretches across one side of the cabin
In the communal area, a full-height glass wall runs the length of the building, providing unobstructed views of the surrounding forest.
When seen from outside, the reflective glass helps to blend building volumes with the trees.
To prevent confusing and injuring wildlife, the large panels have a coating that is invisible to the human eye, but that birds can see clearly.
In order to reduce construction timelines and improve build quality, each cabin was pre-fabricated offsite in two sections, and assembled together in the field.
The fully glazed wall provides views of the forest from inside
"Two operations had to take place on location: the pouring of the radiant concrete slab, and installation of the long, reflective glass walls," Bourgeois Lechasseur said.
"Meticulous site coordination was required during final assembly."
The interior of the cabins are also lined in wood
The cabins interiors have an airy palette of pale wooden ceilings, light concrete floors, and monochrome furniture.
Bourgeois Lechasseur aimed to create a contrast with the typical "rustic log cabins" that most people still associate with the Canadian wilderness. "Today's travelers seek comfort and poetry," the architects said.
The cabin interiors have a light and airy look
Bourgeois Lechasseur have completed several residences throughout Quebec.
Others include a home on the Magdalene Islands that takes cues from local traditional materials and a lakeside residence with stepped, stadium-style seating outside leading down to the water.
The photography is by Maxime Brouillet unless otherwise indicated.
The cathedral entrance was designed to create a "harmonious dialogue" between its contemporary design and the cathedral's Middle Age architectural heritage. It will consist of a rectangular stone extension with five archivolts, creating an open gallery.
Angers Cathedral was built in the Angevin gothic style in the 12th to 13th centuries on the base of an earlier Romanesque cathedral, and five architecture studios were invited to create a new design for the entrance.
"Massive stone arches supporting nothing? It makes no sense"
Commenters aren't convinced that the winning design is suitable for a historic building. "Bizarre. It's not as ugly as it could be, but so clearly out of character with the actual building," said MB America.
Colin_MacGillivray agreed: "A pure, lean, glass structure, using 21st-century technology, would have revealed the original entrance."
"We have the right to add the new modern parts to historic buildings, but it comes with an obligation to do it well," added Marius. "This one is a rather mediocre idea; the fact that it's well-executed does not change it."
"Massive stone arches supporting nothing? It makes no sense, concluded Alfred Hitchcock. "Surely there's a more appropriate solution with a much more slender structure, which doesn't completely obscure the existing entrance and visually compete with the historic structure?"
"I know symmetry is not necessarily in-style, but surely here at least if the building tapered out on both sides the necessary 'structural gymnastics', referred to by a previous commenter, would be basically eliminated," continued SteveLeo. "So wilfully difficult it's painful to look at!"
McGrath Road housing project is "a bit marmite," reader says
Readers have mixed feelings about Peter Barber Architects' McGrath Road housing project, which has won this year's RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing. The social housing estate is made up of 26 townhouses that are fronted with recessed arches and surround a central paved courtyard.
"Nice to see a public housing project that doesn't look like death," said disqus_Qlc3NGnnSS. "The window looking out onto a brick wall isn't exactly inspirational, though."
"It's a bit marmite," agrees James. "The catenary arches aren't really something that works for me, but I think there are a lot of interesting ideas about internal and external space, as well as some interesting rhythmic things going on."
"An interesting and complex project, but I can't help thinking that the forms would be more at home in North Africa or the Middle East than in Newham, London," added Walter Astor. "Certainly, it does nothing to reinforce the prevailing local context."
"A lot of formalism going on for the sake of formalism”
Readers are divided over the shape of new metal-clad homes in Los Angeles designed by LOHA. The project is located near Hollywood and consists of five three-story units on a slender rectangular lot.
"I like the shapes but technically those spaces in between are absolutely impossible to maintain, said Sim. "Imagine that space cluttered with leaves that you have to clear out."
"Faux formalism really – the units are an interesting shape," continued davidspiher. "But why just line them up in the most uninteresting/boring /least sculptural way possible (flat back facade), with the least consideration of the empty spaces of the site?"
Zea Newland agreed: "Like another user stated there's a lot of formalism going on for the sake of formalism but I would like to appreciate the layout."
Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.
A restorative ecosystem scheme in Costa Rica and a tool that creates fuel from waste have been named winners of Prince William's sustainable design competition and will each receive a medal designed by Christien Meindertsma.
Five winners from a 15-strong shortlist have received an Earthshot Prize for their solutions to the world's greatest environmental problems.
Launched in October 2020 by The Royal Foundation and Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is an annual awards programme that is "designed to incentivise change and help to repair our planet". It will run up until 2030.
Each winning project considers how our lives could be improved by 2030, in response to five categories. These are Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World and Fix our Climate.
The first five Earthshot Prize winners received medals designed by Meindertsma
The Republic of Costa Rica government won the Protect and Restore Nature category for its scheme that pays local citizens to restore natural ecosystems in urban areas.
The scheme builds on a similar programme between the Costa Rican Ministry for Environment and locals which protects forests and ecosystems in rural areas.
Winners were selected from a shortlist of 15 finalists
The Clean our Air category was won by Takachar, for its tool that creates fuel from agricultural waste.
In a bid to prevent crop burning and air pollution, Takachar created a cheap, portable tool that can be attached to tractors in remote farms. The machine then converts crop residues into bio-products such as fuel or fertilizer.
A tool that turns waste into fuel by Takachar won the Clean our Air category
The Revive our Oceans category called for solutions that keep oceans healthy. Coral Vita, a company that grows coral on land before replanting it in oceans was awarded first prize. Using this method, corals can grow up to 50 times faster than traditional coral farming methods.
As well as restoring reefs, Coral Vita works with local communities and companies to improve education and source funding into environmental protection to bolster coastal economies.
Coral Vita won the Revive our Oceans category for its coral farming method
The fourth award was for an AEM Electrolyser by Enapter. The green hydrogen generator uses hydrogen in place of fossil fuels, transforming how homes and buildings could be powered.
As winner of the Fix our Climate category, the design meets the brief to combat climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere and helping countries to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Each winner received a unique earth-shaped award designed by Meindertsma at an awards ceremony that took place in London last Monday.
A green hydrogen generator by Enapter won the Fix our Climate category
The final winner was The City of Milan for the Build a Waste-free World award. Its Food Waste Hubs, a city-wide initiative that cuts waste and tackles hunger involves recovering waste food from supermarkets and redistributing it to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that deliver it to those in need.
This category awards efforts that reduce waste, cut single-use packaging and inspire a new generation to reuse, repurpose, and recycle.
Each medal is unique and made from recycled materials
Called Precious Matter, the award is made from recycled materials, in line with The Earthshot Prize's goal to reach a zero-waste world.
The Dutch designer drew on Earthrise, a renowned photograph of Earth by astronaut Major General William Anders for the design. Each award depicts a slightly different rotation of the Earth's surface.
Together, the 50 awards – five awarded each year for ten years – will combine to create a whole planet Earth, mirroring how the 50 future solutions of the Earthshot Prize will "repair the planet".
Dutch designer Meindertsma said the medals were a celebration of "the preciousness of matter on earth and the fact that we all share this matter."
"The design of the award is based on that very special first moment when the three astronauts of the Apollo 8 mission first saw the earth as a tiny beautiful precious marble of matter," she said.
The recycled brass, which forms the core of the medal was sourced from water pipe fittings, household waste such as keys and small metal elements filtered from wastewater sludge.
The Earthshot Prize medal is housed in a recycled linoleum box which Meindertsma made from material found in factory waste.
The case is made from recycled linoleum
The winners received £1 million prize money each and access to a global network of professional and technical support to scale these cutting-edge environmental solutions.
The prize is accompanied by a five-part documentary called The Earthshot Prize: Repairing our Planet, which explores the challenges facing our planet and the ground-breaking solutions being developed to repair it.
The next Earthshot Prize award ceremony will take place in the US. Nominations for the 2022 Prize will open in January 2022.
This year, a series of high-profile sustainable summits to tackle climate change will take place. In November, the COP26 Climate Change Conference by the United Nations will take place in Glasgow.
A RIBA Built Environment Summit which will explore ways to decarbonise architecture will take place online and at RIBA London from 28 to 29 October 2021.
Dezeen Showroom: the delicate shape of petals informed the Phlox collection of seating and tables, designed by London studio Rainlight for Japanese office furniture brand Okamura to bring a sense of softness to the workplace.
The Phlox collection is named after the eponymous night-blooming flower and includes a conference and lounge chair, a high stool and five different table shapes, distinguished by their gently rounded silhouettes.
Phlox is a collection of office tables and chairs by Okamura
While the seating designs offer varying degrees of back support, all are defined by their undulating seat, which swoops up to form a backrest and two curving armrests.
"Select one of three seat heights to set the tone for collaboration," Okamura said. "Conference chairs offer mid- or high-back support with intuitive adjustments."
"Settle into deep discussion in Phlox lounge chairs or gather spontaneously in high stools that connect the team with ease."
The tables are available in different heights to match the seating
The matching Phlox tables are available in a variety of different sizes, heights and shapes ranging from round, square and rectangular to gently curved trapezoid and pentagon shapes with tapered knife-edge details.
The tops can be finished in veneer, laminate or plant-based linoleum, while the wooden legs are available in four different coloured lacquers.
The seating is upholstered in a recycled PET yarn made using salvaged fishing nets from Japan's seas.
About Dezeen Showroom:Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
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Dezeen Showroom: Spanish manufacturer Decocer has released Crag, a collection of porcelain tiles with an "avant-garde industrial aesthetic" designed to resemble stone and weathered metal.
The Crag collection is made of hardwearing grès porcelain for use both indoors and outdoors, and is digitally printed in two opposing colourways – Ash and Snow.
While Ash features warm, coppery hues reminiscent of the weathered "charm of a New York loft", Snow's cooler tones help to create a bright, minimalist feel.
Crag tiles can be used both indoors (above) and outdoors (top image)
"The technological innovation of digital printing allows us to apply to the pieces a textured matte finish," said Decocer.
"The Crag collection is designed to transmit an avant-garde industrial aesthetic, for people who want to break with convention."
The collection is available in two colourways including the cool-toned Snow
The tiles are available in one standard format of seven by 28 centimetres.
They can be used on both walls and floors, including in kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces, as well as on patios and in swimming pools.
About Dezeen Showroom:Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.
