MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects has designed the Hilltop Cottage, a seasonal pavilion that provides refuge above a river valley in New Brunswick, Canada.

The Hilltop Cottage is a seasonal pavilion providing refuge over the river valley below, memorialising the site where the property owners once got engaged.

The shingle-clad structure recalls the vernacular language of historic Scottish shielings and Irish tower houses, where the cottage's form and details – glazed wood, Eastern white cedar shingles, sliding barn doors – respond directly to maritime material culture.

Thickened structure walls envelop the central living space with recessed hollows to hold a hearth, food prep area and storage. Inspired by the Orinda House by Charles Moore (1962), the parti is a "house within a house."

This project has been longlisted in the small project category of Dezeen Awards 2025.

Studio: MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Project: Hilltop Cottage
Credits: Stuckenschneider Decoration & Design, CBCL Consulting Engineers and Terry and Glen Buggie