When the firm Atelier Kastelic Buffey (Akb) began work on a vacation home north of Toronto, its clients’ first priority was to engage with views of nature. And when you walk into the 7,500-square-foot house, a view is the first thing you see: a perfect slice of a grove of conifers, revealed by a square window and framed by protruding walls of weathered cedar.

Such is the character of this house in Ontario’s Muskoka region, designed as a getaway for a family of five. The design brings the outdoors in but balances the wilderness with built spaces that are carefully proportioned, precisely detailed, and rigorously minimalist.