London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

This Saltbox House Was Inspired by a Family’s Favorite Barbecue Grill

This Saltbox House Was Inspired by a Family’s Favorite Barbecue Grill

In designing a home to the highest standards of sustainability, Montreal firm L’Abri looked to the best qualities of a family’s prized grill: modesty, efficiency, and durability.

In Bromont, Quebec, this white-washed home’s simple appearance belies the complex sustainability features contained within. The New England–style structure, with its traditional saltbox roof, was constructed to attain Passive House certification, a global standard of excellence in sustainable architecture.



The concept for the dwelling began with the clients’ somewhat vague and deceptively simple request to "build the best house possible." Canadian firm L’Abri’s interpretation was to craft a home that would consume minimal energy through its entire lifecycle, an idea inspired by an oddly specific object: an outdoor barbecue grill.



"Our favorite anecdote about the clients is that when we first met, they described their desired house as similar to a grill they had owned for several years," says lead architect Francis Martel Labrecque. "Sturdy, not too big, and very efficient."

With this residential recipe in hand, the architects devised a plan for the client couple and their two children. The home is distributed across three levels and nestles into a gently sloping hill so as to minimize visibility of the retaining walls built of locally excavated stone. The home’s L-shape creates a sheltered outdoor garden area, its orientation maximizing sunlight. "The house faces south to favor passive solar heating, and embrace panoramic views over the valley," says Labrecque.



The saltbox roof is a tip of the cap to both the built heritage of nearby New England and the Estrie region, but it also helps with privacy. "The roof slope follows the topography of the place, helping the home remain discreet from the street," say the architects.



Ultimately, the design was dictated by the project’s rigorous energy goals. "All of our design decisions were first validated by performing an energy model of the building," explains Labrecque. "This steered us toward a double-stud structure for the insulation of the above-ground walls, and triple-glazed UPVC windows." (For the uninitiated, windows that are durable, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly.) "We also reduced the carbon footprint by using materials like wood siding and cellulose insulation."



For the architects, the home demonstrates a new standard in sustainable design. Since being built, it has earned both LEED Platinum and Passive House certifications. "We want to design better buildings that we’ll be proud of for years to come," says Labrecque. "This project confirmed to us that a building can be aesthetic, in harmony with its environment, and extremely efficient."


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×