Category: Architecture (Page 11 of 29)

New Farm House in Oylegate, Wexford

October 16, 2014 / barros / 4 Comments

Located in the heart of County Wexford in Ireland, the site enjoys beautiful landscape views. The client’s brief sought a simple residence with lots of natural light and a good connection with the landscape. The farm complex is quite dominant and sits interestingly on a different direction than the original farm house.

Our proposal was carefully designed to respect the site history while introducing a more contemporary volume.

The two main directions on site are the starting point for our proposal. The memory of the old house being replaced remains present. This volume is intersected by a lower, more contemporary, volume.

The new house respects the immediate surroundings either by the materials selected or the shapes and scale used.

The fenestration to North is reduced to the minimum to improve energy efficiency. The living spaces of the house are located to South enjoying most of the solar gains while creating a strong connection to outside.

Being aware of its rural location, the house is conceived as two simple volumes that mark each other by carving out a new relationship. The openings are treated as clean incisions that provide optimum views of the surrounding landscape.

See more animations here.

Do you have a similar project? Talk to us today!

Extension to House Over 100 years Old in New Ross, Wexford

June 30, 2014 / barros / 2 Comments

Note: This post was previously titled ‘Extension to 1950’s House in New Ross, Wexford – SketchUp Animation’. During works we discovered the walls were not what we expected and some investigation confirmed the original house was built between 1888-1913! (The owners were not aware of this.)

We feel that our proposal is like the missing piece to complete this house puzzle.

The original house used to be a Council house and it was built in the 1950s. The owners had already built different extensions to the house but they left a big problem unsolved: the entrance and the circulation and flow of space within the house.

They approached us to get a bigger kitchen more suitable to their lifestyle. We listened and we were sensitive to all energies we could capture. We proposed a holistic approach that embraced the existing house, respecting it and making the all space a much better place to live in.

We like to think the new entrance works like the “spinal column” of the house, supporting it, organizing it and allowing the spaces to flow naturally from there.

From the entrance a new wall – the “shoulders” – is built to hold the two new extensions – the “arms” – that will hug and embrace the existing house respecting it in a complacent manner.

We felt the existing black and white palette needed a different material/texture to make it more interesting and with a warmer feeling. We propose to cover the two “arms” with timber cladding. This is a type of cladding found elsewhere on this site and it has the beauty of being a natural and environmentally friendly material that easily blends with the landscape.

Working with an existing house with a number of (more recent) extensions is always a challenge. We are often restricted by a number of factors and it requires years of experience to turn them around in our favour. We are delighted with the result and we cannot wait to see it built.

See what our clients had to say:

See more animations here.

Do you have a similar project? Talk to us today!

The Secret Guide to Deal with Architects – Take 6

May 19, 2014 / barros / 0 Comments

Our 6th secret tip about how to deal with an Architect focus on relationship building as an important pillar for collaborative work.

If you have just landed here do not miss our previous tips:

6. Build Trust

Build a relationship with your Architect based on trust and credibility. Your Architect’s duty is to always act in your best interest. An Architect has the most appropriate training and experience to design, co-ordinate and manage your building project, and you need to believe this!

An Architect that feels trusted by a client will definitely go an extra mile and you may even get some freebies along the way (most likely extra time not charged and extra care and passion for your project).

Hot tip: Become a friend rather than just a client. Open your heart and share your interests with your Architect (even if they are as simple as liking giraffes!), you may find out that your Architect has similar interests and what best way to start a relationship where teamwork is so important!

Go to Take 7 – Enjoy the Process

Start from Take 1 – Stages