The owner’s tour | Aesthetic and energy efficient before its time

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes to us, offered on the resale market.

“Our motto is that we are not at home here. We are at home,” say Sylvie Racine and André Filion, who nevertheless hold the title deeds to this astonishing energy-efficient residence in Lanaudière, nestled between two lakes.

So, who are we talking about when we talk about “them”? These are the hosts of these woods, animals and plants, which the couple wanted to preserve as much as possible when developing the building. They also applied this philosophy of respect to the construction method, focusing on energy efficiency and the principles of a passive house. Not so unique? Perhaps not in 2023, but let us point out that the building was erected in 2007, when environmental concerns were far from occupying people’s minds as much.

It all comes from logic: Mr. Filion, now retired, is a physicist by training and worked for Natural Resources Canada as head of the development of renewable energy technologies. “At the end of my career, I came across an article in a specialist journal which presented a solar house in France which had won an architecture prize. Its aesthetics and energy-efficient capabilities caught our attention,” he recalls.

Inspired by this model, Sylvie and André set out to find land within a reasonable distance of Montreal to create a residence in the same style, but with their personal touch. They set their sights on a corner of Lanaudière that they knew well, since they came to fish in the Mastigouche wildlife reserve, located a stone’s throw away. The area for sale also met the requirements of their future passive house. “We looked for the terrain with a compass, to find a south-facing orientation,” they emphasize.

For the eye and for the soul

Once the nearly 2-acre area was acquired, several criteria guided construction. First, the aesthetic, inspired by the French passive house discovered in the magazine. “It’s very important for us, I’m passionate about architecture and decoration,” says Sylvie Racine.

The result was extraordinary shapes, with a roof bordering on cubism, and harmoniously intertwined sets of triangles and rectangles, all painted in “subtle khaki” (even if the photos give the false impression of a shade yellowish). The interior also has its confusing elements, with a curious oval opening creating a mezzanine, all completed by high quality furniture and materials. Spread over two floors and a basement, 14 pieces make up the residential puzzle. We also note the very beautiful terrace on the ground floor and the triangular balcony upstairs.

The other guideline was of course the energy efficiency of the premises, Mr. Filion’s specialty. Among the ingredients of the formula, we find triple-glazed windows facing south, a mass fireplace, an imposing granite stone used to store heat, a concrete slab heated with glycol also acting as thermal mass, and walls entirely erected in Nudura insulating blocks, with 6-inch concrete pours. Two charging stations for electric vehicles have also been installed in the separate double garage.

However, compared to the original inspiration model, some adjustments had to be made to suit the Quebec climate.

Minimal impact

A third principle also served as a guideline: respect for the environment, the land being abundantly wooded and adjoining two small navigable lakes where gasoline engines are prohibited. “There are families of loons, bald eagles, geese, turtles, frogs, we don’t want to destroy that. When we built, we removed the trees one by one, at least,” says M.^me Root.

The couple even encountered incomprehension from certain dealers, notably when shopping for eight solar panels to cover the roof of the shed. “They told us: ‘It’s not worth it, you won’t get your money back.’ But for us, it was not an economic gain that we were looking for, we wanted to do it for the environment…”

Now it’s time for passive house to hand over the reins. Who will be the heir? Without doubt someone who cares about the environment and unique architecture.