Toronto-based StudioAC has completed a residence east of the city, in a landscape characterized by an “intricate coastline and a bourgeoning wine-making industry.” The home, named Cherry Valley House, sits on a steep ridge that descends to the lakeshore.

The house is sunken into the ridge, “protected at its back and providing a vantage point below the trees,” according to the team. Large windows on the shore-facing facade frame views of the lake, while panoramic windows at ground level face an adjacent meadow. Above, large dormer windows bring additional natural light into the space.

The home’s contemporary spatial sequencing is contrasted by materiality drawing inspiration from the area’s agrarian architecture. Outside, brick and cedar “celebrate the duality of the site,” with brick used on the solid wall holding back the hillside, and a cedar roof wrapping down the facade facing the water. The interior, meanwhile, is entirely clad in Douglas fir boards, with brick cladding walls that “engage in a dialogue with the exterior tectonics.”

The home is one of several recently completed residential schemes to feature in our editorial. Last week, we covered Atelier L’Abri’s completion of a Passive House retrofit of a 1970s garage in rural Quebec, while MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects completed an oceanside Nova Scotia home designed as a “prototype for modest living.”

Earlier this month, Atelier Bow-Wow completed their first U.S. home, featuring a large ‘umbrella’ roof in the Sierra Nevadas, while Estonian studio Arsenit completed an elevated timber retreat close to the country’s largest waterfall.