Birdhouse / Superkül

Located on a quiet lake in Ontario’s Kawartha Highlands, this modest Canadian cottage seeks to integrate directly with its natural surroundings to offer a sylvan refuge at the water’s edge.

Drawing on the natural setting in Highlands, architects devise the perfect summer retreat—a raven-hued vacation home modeled after a Birdhouse.

Architects: Superkül
Location: Kawartha, Ontario, Canada
Photography: Doublespace

A 269-square-meter home away from home sits on Precambrian granite, which slopes down toward the water. One side faces a thick forest. Clad in a charred cedar slat.

While the exterior blends with the terrain, the interiors consist of white-washed birch plywood, providing a serene counterpoint that evokes a deep sense of tranquility.

The new gabled roof references the cabin, in pigment and shape, while the black aluminum window detailing generates consistency across the entire envelope.

The glazed link manifests a threshold between past and present in which the rustic logs are framed by the birch plywood millwork that seamlessly lines the new interiors.