How They Pulled It Off: A Cantilevered Green Roof

To pull off a sculptural green roof—and the 2,500 square foot, off-grid-ready weekend getaway tucked beneath it— it helps to have an international design firm at your disposal. Happily, this is the case for Louis Lemay, president of Montreal-based firm Lemay, and his partner, architect Stéfanie Roy. Lemay’s firm is known for large-scale commercial and civic projects with a "net-positive" approach centered on the well-being of users, environmental protection, and carbon reduction. The couple used their vacation home as an opportunity to collaborate with structural engineering firm ELEMA, builders Charpentes Montmorency and Constructions Pierre Ruel, and a multidisciplinary design team from Lemay to test this approach at a residential scale. (And yes, they put in a hot tub.)