The biggest decision about the design of the house on Grand Lake in Nova Scotia, along Canada’s Atlantic coast, says architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, was to elevate it. That singular move solved a number of issues related to site and function, and turned a modest house modeled after the traditional cabins that dot this picturesque landscape into a subtle architectural achievement.
The lofty abode, arrived at after driving more than a mile over a narrow, twisting pathway off a main road, takes on a monumental presence as it finally reveals itself among a forest of evergreens. Anticipation similarly builds on the way into the house. Passing beneath the raised portion of the building to low, framed views of the lake, one immediately turns to ascend a slender, enclosed wood-clad staircase before reaching the open glass-walled main living space and its unobstructed panorama. Says MacKay-Lyons, “There’s a choreography about the entry that is important.”
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