The owner’s tour | Always go further

Owners open the doors to their exceptional home, offered on the resale market.

Danielle Bonneau
Press

From house to house, first in Europe, then in Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, in the Capitale-Nationale region, Arnaud Dumont has refined his concept of ecological and autonomous house. He has always liked to design homes, even if he has not made it his profession, juxtaposing this passion with the one he has for ecology and sustainable economy.

The house he imagined, north-west of Quebec, surprises visitors with its semi-underground portion, which follows the unevenness of the land, and its greenhouse, which is literally at the heart of the house.

“I was inspired by the concept of earthships, which was invented in the 1970s in California,” he explains. These are houses all in length, which have a greenhouse in front and which communicate with it. A house of this type was built in Quebec about fifteen years ago. ”

“I wanted a semi-underground house to obtain interesting heat exchanges at ground level and have better insulation,” he explains. The concept of a U-shaped house, with a greenhouse in the middle, was of particular interest to me. ”

The greenhouse, the home’s lungs

The greenhouse, the home’s real lung, has an aquaponics pool, where both fish and plants are raised, which interact. “This basin allows in summer to cultivate plants and to communicate in terms of ventilation with the rest of the house, explains the owner. When it is very hot, we ventilate as much as possible to evacuate excess heat and humidity. In autumn and winter, when it is very hot in the greenhouse, it allows the adjacent rooms to be heated, thanks to a well-thought-out air exchanger and heat recovery system. We thus have a house that breathes. ”

The greenhouse, located on the garden level, is surrounded by four rooms, the function of which can vary according to the needs of the occupants. They are currently used as bedrooms or offices, but future owners could change their vocation, underlines the current owner.

“Around, we find a corridor of circulation which also serves as a buffer and passage in the cold season, specifies the owner. Some visitors are a little taken aback because in winter, we will prefer to go through the corridor, which is not a wasted space. As it is in the semi-underground part of the house and the earth keeps the heat in winter and cool in summer, it is temperate in winter and cool in summer. Upstairs, which is accessed from the outside in spring, summer and fall, we find the master bedroom, the adjoining bathroom and the kitchen, open to the living room. ”

Normally, he should have arranged the house on one level in a U-shape, agrees the owner. “We added a floor for personal convenience,” he says. For us, it is a family living space. “

“I prefer to receive people in summer rather than in winter anyway, and for that, we have a huge terrace which is really ideal,” he adds.

Energy autonomy

Fell in love with Canada 25 years ago, Arnaud Dumont settled there ten years ago because he wanted to “grow” his children there. Established in Europe, he fell in love with an old inn in Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, which he discovered online. “I walk on instinct,” he says. It is a defect, like a quality. ”

He was in the process of making the old inn self-sufficient when he decided to sell it and unleash his passion. This new home, as passive as possible, was to be the last, so he carefully chose an ideal sloping ground to bury part of it and favor a settlement towards the south and southwest (and take advantage of the hot sunshine).

The U-shaped house was insulated beyond standards, he says. And the installation of cranked aluminum shutters (and not electric), to cover large windows, is part of the same energy saving logic.

The power supply system combines photovoltaic solar panels and a wind turbine, which meet virtually any need. The property is still connected to Hydro-Quebec, in order to ensure the supply of electricity to certain specific parts, such as the detached garage.

It was to be his last home, but Mr. Dumont has another project in mind, still focused on energy efficiency, but even more self-sufficient. He would build the house, in another nearby municipality, so as to be less dependent on technology. “The next house will be connected to the modern system, but also combining the wisdom of the ancients, in their simpler way of building,” he explains.

He hopes that his house in Fossambault-sur-le-Lac will appeal to people sensitive to the environment and to autonomy, both in terms of food and energy. He will thus be able to push his own approach even further.