ARCHIMEDE INSTITUTE


CANADA - Sutton QC- Ski Resorts on Stilts



These condos built in 1983 are owned by The Club Archimede Vacation Club They are very popular, allowing 'ski-in/ski-out' access by simply skiing to your front door on the ground floor, with paths taking the shorter route UNDER other condos. The unique injected panels are sealed to each other along the edges of what are rhombododecahedral shells with incredible rigidity. The cavity under the floor is pressurized with warm air so that all floors are warm, the bathroom being the warmest of all because of the proximity of the electric furnace. An interesting design detail is that holes are drilled trough that floor into which short lengths of pipes are inserted. Over these pipes ski boots are inserted to have them warm and dried.


The lower level is where are stored skis and where the clothing is shed with cold air and snow remaining there before the skier goes upstairs to a snug and warm environment. The acoustic walls between units are built with a scientifically designed wall that only allows a few decibels to seep through, not enough to make the sounds identifiable. This great feature and the fact that the groupings on the ground naturally follow contours, flowing around large trees and forming lively clusters, the multiple views in each condos, all of it gives the entire place a vacation feeling that is well appreciated by a large return clientèle of families. In the summer, the condos are mostly fully rented, sometimes to groups like the Bar Association of Quebec.