Muskoka Cottage / Akb Architects

Akb Architects has created a multi-generational family cottage clad in rough-sawn cedar boards and cedar shakes to merge with the northern Ontario terrain of windswept trees and Pre-Cambrian bedrock. The 7,500-square-foot residence comprises three interconnected volumes that form an interior of cozy spaces and open rooms with spectacular views of a freshwater lake. The simple, volumetric shapes are distinctly contemporary and embedded with vernacular features that give the house its cabin-in-the-woods appeal, including gabled rooflines with pronounced chimney stacks and an abundance of naturally aged wood.