PROJECT DETAILS

The original house footprint on the site comprises of four rooms, two located each side of a central corridor. The original construction was a raised timber floor, solid walls with rough cast painted render as an external finish. The main dwelling has a hipped, slate roof, and the main entrance would have faced south west. All original windows were replaced over time with uPVC windows, and all internal joinery, including internal doors were also found to be late 20th century replacements.

A later flat-roofed extension was added to the south west , altering the original entrance door position. It resulted in the formation of two entrances to the house, both located in the new extension. One main entrance was situated to the front (south east facing) with windows to a lobby area, and a side entrance was located to on the south west elevation. This extension also added a kitchen and main bathroom to the footprint, and a WC was in the original house, with a new window ope on the north west facade. It is thought that at the same time as the extension was constructed, the floor construction of the main house was altered, and the suspended timber floor was infilled with concrete.

In assessing the current building and site conditions in conjunction with the design brief of creating a four-bedroomed energy efficient family home, significant rearrangement would have been required in order to achieve rooms that would be of a standard to comply with modern guidelines and regulations. This rearrangement, coupled with the area of extension required in order to meet the space requirements meant that there was extremely limited usable private open space left over, with the front apron being provided for car parking and the rear area being long and narrow in character providing a garden with similar dimensions to that of a semi detached estate property.

In order to be respectful to the scale of the existing dwelling, the proposed design has developed as a modern interpretation of a dormer bungalow. Overall massing and heights have been designed to be sympathetic to the scale of the existing and neighbouring dwellings.

The internal split level layout is designed so as to maximize the sunlight, daylight and also privacy levels, given its proximity to the Dublin Road, with all communal spaces of the property located along the rear elevation, minimizing intrusions from the adjoining road.

Sunlight and daylight is brought into the property through sun chimneys which will flood light over the communal areas and circulation spaces, whilst the bedroom areas utilize cranked windows to maximize the natural light in the property. Ancillary spaces in the design are located along the northern façade to maximize the southern aspect of the garden space.

An open plan living / kitchen / dining area to the rear opens out to a paved sunken terrace, essentially extending the internal space with large feature sliding doors

A smaller double height living room to the front of the house forms a quiet retreat, away from the family orientated open plan arrangement to the rear. Two no. bedrooms are located within the footprint of the original cottage at the entrance level, together with the master bathroom, and at the upper level, there are two further ensuite bedrooms.

Materially, the design draws from the surrounding environment, utilizing a mix of red brickwork and a light monocouche render to maximise the reflection of daylight from the north west elevation to the rear terrace.

Energy efficiency is also a focal point throughout the design. The independently measured BER for the finished property has achieved an A3 rating.