POINT WILLIAM COTTAGE

LOCATION Point William, Muskoka, Ontario ARCHITECT Shim-Sutcliffe Architects PHOTOS Scott Norsworthy, except where indicated

Point William Cottage is a laboratory for living, offering a rich spatial experience that moves fluidly between interior and exterior spaces, while demarcating a place in the Canadian landscape.

Located on the Canadian Shield, Point William is one of three slender peninsulas jutting into Lake Muskoka, and carries a rich geographic and cultural history. This project draws inspiration from the building culture of this part of Ontario: from sophisticated Muskoka boats and elaborate Victorian cottages, to underwater infrastructures made from heavy timber. The cottage replaces an existing 1960s building that occupied the tip of the peninsula, and is sited to reveal a large rock outcropping that was covered by the previous structure.

The modern house has always been linked to the remarkable experiments that define the modernist project. In a similar spirit, Point William Cottage begins with architecture, and then expands its territory to include landscape, furniture, lighting, hardware and fittings. Design invention, material exploration, and a sense of delight take place at multiple levels. The scale of a door handle and of an architectural section are explored simultaneously.

The building’s exterior palette combines local granite, weathered atmospheric steel, untreated ipe wood, and bronze-clad windows—all choreographed to create four distinct elevations, which are syncopated to respond to each orientation and program. The material palette was selected to ensure longevity, gracious aging, and anticipation of weathering over time.

The building’s spatial sequence begins with an entry porch, framed by a series of deep weathering steel fins that straddle indoors and outdoors on one side, and weathering steel panels washed by natural light on the other. Canadian granite is pulled inside, defining the floor plane, while the skylit ceiling plane is shaped by natural light sweeping across Douglas fir panels. The cinematic space created by the deep weathering steel fins continually frames and reframes views of the landscape.

Light is manipulated and sculpted through the articulated sections in this project. The reflected ceiling plan is an important dimension of this building, contributing a rich spatial sequence of interrelated and overlapping spaces. Several J-shaped double-glazed windows create poignant moments of transition throughout the project. The living area is located

OPPOSITE The cottage wraps around a bedrock outcrop on the Canadian Shield landscape of Ontario’s Lake Muskoka. TOP A view of the cottage’s north elevation in winter. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT The living space looks out towards the lake; an elongated entryway acts as an indoor-outdoor porch; meticulous attention to detailing within the cottage extends to the ceiling plane.

at the water’s edge and is designed to act as a light reflector, with high vertical clerestory windows contrasting with panoramic windows below.

Through its sculptural form and careful material selection, Point William Cottage fuses its built form with its land form, creating a special place on the Canadian Shield.

:: Jury :: This cottage stood out for its attention to design details at multiple scales. The creative fabrication and craft echoes characteristics of an organic Art Deco architecture. The building itself belongs to the natural context and is adjusted to the topography, giving it a naval quality-a sunken vessel on the shore.

CLIENT PRIVATE | ARCHITECT TEAM BRIGITTE SHIM, HOWARD SUTCLIFFE, STEPHANE LEBLANC, ZACHARIAH GLENNON | STRUCTURAL BLACKWELL STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS | MECHANICAL BK CONSULTING INC. | ELECTRICAL DYNAMIC DESIGNS AND ENGINEERING INC. | BUILDER JUDGES CONTRACTING | CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANT VMF STRUCTURES LTD. | INTERIORS SHIM-SUTCLIFFE ARCHITECTS INC., CHAPI CHAPO DESIGN INC., KAREN PETRACHENKO | HARDWARE UPPER CANADA SPECIALTY HARDWARE LTD. | CUSTOM MILLWORK MILLWORKS CUSTOM MANUFACTURING (2001) INC. | CUSTOM METALS FABRICATION JSW MANUFACTURING INC., NORSTAR ALUMINUM PRODUCTS LTD., MARIANI METAL FABRICATORS LTD., MILLWORKS CUSTOM MANUFACTURING (2001) INC. | CUSTOM STONEWORK CB MARBLE CRAFT LTD. | CUSTOM FURNITURE FABRICATION MILLWORKS CUSTOM MANUFACTURING (2001) INC., 2 DEGREES NORTH INC., KAI LEATHER PRODUCT DESIGN | CUSTOM HARDWARE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HARDWARE INC., CANADIAN BUILDERS HARDWARE MFG. INC. | CUSTOM 3D PRINTED HARDWARE SHIM-SUTCLIFFE ARCHITECTS INC. | CUSTOM WINDOWS AND DOORS TRADEWOOD WINDOWS + DOORS INC. | A/V ENTERTAINING INTERIORS | LIGHTING AND ELECTRICAL MORROW ELECTRIC LTD. | LANDSCAPING TED SMITH CONSTRUCTION OF BALA LTD., BRACKENRIG LANDSCAPING | BUDGET WITHHELD | OCCUPANCY MAY 2017