Haddad Compound
2018, Laurentides, Sainte-Adèle, Canada
LAND AREA 40,000 sq.m
BUILT UP AREA 1,000 sq.m
In a 40,000-square-meter plot of forested land in Sainte-Adèle, a lush region north of Montreal, Canada, the Haddad Compound is engaged in an ongoing conversation with its surrounding forests.

In a 40,000-square-meter plot of forested land in Sainte-Adèle, a lush region north of Montreal, Canada, the Haddad Compound is engaged in an ongoing conversation with its surrounding forests.


Home to the Haddad family and built as an extension of two existing buildings, the Haddad Compound was designed to flow harmoniously with the existing natural grid, while at the same time empowering residents by giving them the freedom to create their own scenarios in multiples structures and volumes. A building that is composed of many parts, the “exploded” house encompasses a series of pavilions that surround the existing main house, which is geographically located on the highest point of the site. 

 

The pavilions are designed to capture the diverse experiences of inhabiting a forest, creating an emotional attachment through the adoption of the forest as a home. The architectural interventions are positioned in order to bring together the larger family, while respecting the privacy and natural evolution of each smaller part of this same family. The resulting autonomous pavilions offer great privacy, making them an ideal place for guests. 

The two existing structures that were kept intact as part of the urban plan include the Haddad Pavilion, the family’s existing residence, and the Henry Pavilion, a traditional Quebecois cottage built in the 1980s. To those two buildings, the master plan adds three new structures, creating anchor points, while encouraging a dialogue between the old and the new.

With large windows at either end of its living space and a dramatic skylight in the roof, the Elias family house, the first new addition, functions as a sort of cathedral honoring the surrounding forest and the sky. Its long and tall silhouette gives residents both light and space.

The second addition is composed of three Tree Houses, designed for travelers who want to be immersed in nature. The living space is within the main structure, and it offers a cooking area, bathroom and two bunkbeds, while the two additional tree houses are home to the sleeping quarters. In this vast forest, each structure represents a tree that effortlessly blends into its natural environment. 

The Tree Houses were conceived as living testaments to the transformation of wood. Over time wood cracks, twists and changes, showing that each piece of wood is unique. Similarly, each Tree House has its cracks, resulting in its own identity. The main, 49-square-meter pavilion has a much bigger crack going through it, from one corner to the other. The crack avoids the middle, the wood’s heart, preserving it and allowing for a cozy and comfortable space under the trees. Around this heart, and following the crack, a thick layer of bark surrounds the tree house, offering it protection and separation from the outside world. The only place to look out, is up, through the crack.

The second Tree House is a 20-square-meter love nest, a private room with a king-sized bed rising two meters in height, while the third and smallest Tree House covers nine square meters and functions as a sort of observation deck within nature due to its advantageous setting at three meters above ground. 

Much like the Tree Houses capture the experience of living among towering nature, the Miniature House represents life at ground level, where the sky is far away and tree trunks reign supreme. To emphasize this effect, two slabs squeeze the underwood into one space: one slab for the ground and another one for the roof, replacing the tree canopy. Trees randomly scattered, piercing through each slab, bring natural light in this darker environment. At the end of the two slabs, in a corner, is located one of the main miniature houses. The cave-like, main miniature pavilion houses the living quarters with the kitchen, living room and bathroom, with natural light coming in through narrow openings. Two more miniature houses, where the sleeping quarters are located, adjoin the main house, completing this incredible wilderness experience.

 
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Anastasia Elrouss Architects
Architectural Consultant
Element5
Mass Timber Structures Consultant
Element5
Contractors
DIAGRAMS & MODELS
The project was developed from the concept phase with many diagrammatic studies differentiating the topographical changes of the site and its natural environment.
The project was developed from the concept phase with many diagrammatic studies differentiating the topographical changes of the site and its natural environment. From flat site with low vegetation to a very steep site with high vegetation, the project allowed us to explore the nature of the architectural interventions and their scale. Models played an important role into shaping the architectural concept and the internal spaces with respect to the impacting forest. Experimentation in extreme verticality and extreme horizontality was only possible through models because the project wanted to take the five senses to an extreme in order to create an alternative experience in the Canadian forest, sometimes fully attached to the floors and rocks, and at other times suspended between the trees and the sky.
DRAWINGS
Through working with sections or sectional axonometric, the quality of space multiplies in experience, quality, intimacy and mostly being in connection with the outside context. 
Through working with sections or sectional axonometric, the quality of space multiplies in experience, quality, intimacy and mostly being in connection with the outside context. A minute work in linking the space to the sky and to the forest was very important and allowed the project to house incisions and surprises in one moment due to weather conditions. These moments of repetitive connection and disconnection to the environment keep the 40,000m2 forest alive, acting as an exploded sustainable family house.  

RELATED News

  • The Design that Educates Awards 2019
    The Haddad Compound, located in Canada, was selected as a finalist in the Design that Educates Awards 2019. Click here
    29 March 2019
  • The German Design Awards Nomination
    The Haddad Compound in Canada was nominated for the German Design Awards 2019 in the category of Architecture. Click here
    08 February 2019
  • MTL BLOG
    "These rentable Luxury tree houses just outside Montreal will be Quebec's most stunning nature escape." They're part of an innovative design by architect Anastasia Elrouss. Click here
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