Cottage Design Monument Channel, Georgian Bay

The design and construction of this cottage located in Monument Channel Georgian Bay was completed earlier this year.

The cottage is 2,125 square feet and is designed for year-round use. The primary building material is Douglas fir, which was used as the exposed structural frame, ceiling decking, interior wall finishes, interior cabinetry, kitchen island, etc. The design celebrates the simple use of a post and beam structural frame, where the rhythm of the columns, beams, and purlins gives an overall organizational logic to the scheme. The wood is either solid sawn or milled to a profile. The timbers are sometimes massive and other times just efficient in their size. All the timbers were prefabricated and drilled for connections in the factory. The wood is left untreated and natural on the interior and finished with a clear, penetrating oil sealer on the exterior. The exterior cladding is either structural wood or cedar shingles. Ipe is also used as the exterior decking material and for the guardrail top rail and handrail.

All materials had to be barged in given the remote location of the site. The house produces all its own electricity from solar panels and treats its own wastewater with a bio-filter septic system.