Saint-Ferréol Résidence By Jérôme Lapierre Architecte

Nestled within the serene forests of Saint-Ferréol, Québec, Saint-Ferréol Résidence is a secondary retreat designed by Jérôme Lapierre Architecte, completed in 2025. This contemporary addition to an existing chalet-inspired residence exemplifies a sensitive dialogue between architecture and landscape, offering a secluded, immersive experience that moves in harmony with the forest and the changing seasons. The project demonstrates how a modern extension can respect and enhance the character of an original building while asserting its own architectural identity.

Context and Site

The residence is situated among moss-covered grounds and towering spruces, creating a tranquil setting far removed from urban life. The existing structure is inspired by Austrian chalet architecture, characterized by a compact, elevated volume, a light base, generous roof overhangs, and extensive use of wood. These qualities guided the design of the extension, ensuring a sympathetic yet contemporary response to the original building.

The addition is strategically inserted into the wooded site, slipping between tree trunks with precise choreography, preserving the mature spruces and maintaining the visual integrity of the forest. By reducing its footprint and resting lightly on a structural slab, the extension minimizes impact while enhancing the overall spatial composition of the property.

Design and Architectural Approach

The extension continues the architectural language of the main residence, reinterpreting roof overhangs, raised volumes, and wood detailing, yet asserts a minimalist and autonomous posture. A lightweight aerial walkway separates the new volume from the original building, creating the sense of a pavilion suspended in the boreal canopy. This separation reinforces both intimacy and lightness, allowing the extension to float delicately above the forest floor.

Connection to Nature

A fully glazed envelope opens the interior to its surroundings, allowing daylight, reflections, and the textures of the forest to animate the space. Seasonal transitions transform the environment: in summer, the space is open and breezy, while in winter, it closes into a warm, cocoon-like retreat that evokes traditional forest refuges nestled within snow-laden conifers. The tight insertion of the structure ensures a strong immersive experience, with tree branches appearing to extend into the interior, heightening the sense of connection with the natural environment.

Interior and Materiality

Inside, the exposed structural elements create a tectonic rhythm that balances simplicity and constructive clarity. Detached slightly from the glass walls, the structural frame emphasizes lightness and spatial separation, reinforcing the sensation of being suspended among the trees. The interior materials, including terracotta flooring and wood finishes, establish warmth and tactility, enhancing the sensory experience of the forest retreat.

The spatial arrangement fosters intimacy and immersion, with views and reflections changing throughout the day and seasons. The architecture mediates between enclosure and openness, offering a space that is simultaneously part of the forest and distinct as a place for contemplation, relaxation, and connection.

Saint-Ferréol Résidence exemplifies a contemporary forest retreat where architecture and nature coexist in harmony. By combining chalet-inspired forms, minimalist modern intervention, and sensitive landscape integration, Jérôme Lapierre Architecte has created a space that celebrates lightness, immersion, and seasonal responsiveness, offering its inhabitants a profound sense of retreat and connection to the surrounding boreal environment.

All the photographs are works of Maxime Brouillet