Good buildings, rational and pared down | Canada Voices

Montreal’s Kim Gingras is a choreographer and dancer who has graced some of the biggest stages in the world. She’s backed up Beyoncé at the Super Bowl halftime show, danced with Meghan Trainor at the Billboard Music Awards and performed alongside Ariana Grande at Coachella.

But these days, when she and her husband, songwriter and producer Fred St-Gelais, need downtime, they seek it far from the bright lights of show business.

Since 2023, the couple has twice visited the Ridge on the Chimney. The collection of four minimalist rental cabins is perched on a remote stretch of Cape Breton Island, high on a forested bluff overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The design equals the scenery as a draw. “The architecture is pure, simple, and striking,” says Ms. Gingras. “Every detail feels intentional and in harmony with the surrounding landscape. It’s rare to find a place that feels so grounding and at the same time creatively energizing.”

Standout architecture was important for owner Scott Fitzgerald. As a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, studying industrial engineering in the early 2000s, he attended a lecture by local architectural legend Brian MacKay-Lyons. “I remember him saying, ‘Economy was ethic,’” says Mr. Fitzgerald. “It’s the idea that good buildings are rational, pared down, deliberately framing views and landscapes.”

Years later, in 2020, Mr. Fitzgerald stayed at a cabin on Mr. MacKay-Lyons’s own property, Shobac, south of Lunenburg, N.S. There, the architect not only lives and keeps a farm but offers accommodation to those seeking peace and quiet.

The experience inspired Mr. Fitzgerald – even though he had to get his hands dirty. “Some Highland cattle escaped from their enclosure,” he says. “After I helped Brian and his wife, Marilyn, get them back through the break in the fence, we sat down, had coffee, and for several hours talked about my dream for Ridge on the Chimney.”

The dream was a long time coming. Mr. Fitzgerald grew up in Sydney, N.S. Like many in his generation, he had to leave for work. He currently lives in Toronto with his partner and children, where he’s head of sales for Unilever’s ice cream brands (Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and others). “When I graduated high school, unemployment was over 25 per cent,” he says. “But I love Cape Breton. I’ve always wanted a place by the water.”

The dream accelerated after his cowherding coffee. In 2021, Mr. Fitzgerald closed on an undeveloped, 100-plus-acre property in Cape Breton. He immediately engaged Mr. MacKay-Lyons’s firm, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects. “I love how their work celebrates the tradition and beauty of the Maritimes,” he says.

Fittingly, the exterior of the cabins – weathered cedar slats and shingles with sloped steel or cedar roofs – is inspired by the sturdy, utilitarian barns found across Nova Scotia. Cape Breton’s local climate further refined the shape of the structures, which range from about 600 to 1,300 square feet and cost from $400 a night.

“With the area’s freeze-thaw cycle, traditional overhangs can cause ice dams and leaks,” explains Mr. MacKay-Lyons. “Instead, we designed roofs that fold directly into the walls, with a special ventilation strip to keep things dry and clean-looking.”

Then there are the area’s notorious winds, called les Suêtes, which can gust up to 200 kilometres an hour in the colder months. “Because of extreme winds,” says Mr. MacKay-Lyons, “we avoid appendages that might blow off and used recessed entrances to protect people when they’re trying to fish for keys and unlock their door in a storm.”

In contrast to the wild climate, the interiors are warm and luxurious, with double-height ceilings clad in whitewashed hemlock and cast-iron wood stoves that glow when lit. Craftsmanship abounds, such as handmade lights by Toronto brand Hollis Morris and handcrafted mattresses from Ottawa’s Obasan.

But it might be the windows that leave the most lasting impression. Large panes frame views of sea, sky, and the natural rock formation from which the retreat takes its name: the Chimney, a dramatic stack of stones on the beach below.

Smaller windows in the bedrooms frame the surrounding woods, creating moments of intimacy and retreat. “If the big views were everywhere, they’d feel less special,” says Shane Andrews, a partner at the architectural firm. “The window placement lets you choose between connection and retreat, prospect and refuge.”

Despite the cabins’ proximity – they sit close together on a small corner of the site – the windows are placed for privacy. “The layout is so well thought out that you feel completely secluded,” says Ms. Gingras.

That sense of balance – between openness and shelter, community and seclusion – is deliberate. The first four cabins, completed in 2023, were designed as a cluster, “like clothes blowing on a line,” says Mr. MacKay-Lyons. Up to six future phases are planned, with future buildings developing along the same lines.

For Mr. Fitzgerald, there is no rush to populate the site. There is no set timeline for completion. “This, to me, is intergenerational in nature,” he says. “Ideally, it’s something where multiple generations will build memories, and where people will want to come back again and again, bringing their kids and grandkids.”

For visitors such as Ms. Gingras, the vision is already coming to life. Her third trip is already booked for this October. “The first time we stayed, we instantly knew we’d be back,” she says. “Returning felt natural, almost necessary.”