All Around Quebec in a Single ‘Room’

A creative hotel concept.

What is adventure? For this young couple, adventure is waking up each morning not knowing what you’ll see when you open your front door. “Visit Quebec” becomes a thrilling leap into the unknown. It’s peering into the veiled landscape of your new temporary home. It’s getting to know your country intimately – not by force – but by happenstance, luck, and the ability to close your eyes and simply let go.

That’s the premise for this unique experiment, ‘The Room,’ where two ambitious Canadians were transported each day to a new location in the province of Quebec. Their vessel? An ephemeral square meter of living space with a simple gabled roof and double doors that is to be pulled, airlifted, and ferried around one of the most culturally and environmentally diverse parts of the world.

Adventure, as it seems, can be as fundamental as losing yourself in the great unknown.

The structure was designed by Montreal-based architecture firm L’abri – meant to be simple, comfortable, lightweight, and iconic. When closed, the home removes all avenues for view outside the structure, leaving its inhabitants to give their best guess as to where they are going and what to expect when they get there. However, with the front door open and the side panels removed, the tiny home reveals anything and everything their new local has to show.

The idea for the structure was built around the idea that Quebec has so many different things to offer, and how best to draw new visitors into that experience. It turns out four walls, a roof, and a firm mattress was all that was necessary to allow this blank canvas showcase the people, places, and cultural diversity on display.

And while the project was ultimately created as a promotional tool for those who want to visit Quebec, it doesn’t dilute the impact such a thing can have on the human imagination and its capacity for thrill seeking. Adventure, as it seems, can be as fundamental as losing yourself in the great unknown.
‘The Room’ is a dream container, a thought bubble, and a representation of how the sweetest things in life are where we go, who we meet, and what we do, and not the things we leave behind. Watch full video here. Images courtesy of L’abri and Alliance de l’industrie touristique du Québec.