HOUSE ON MT. ANVILLE

This project was the replacement of a 1970s bungalow with a new two-storey house located in the south Dublin suburbs.

Conceptually the design is envisaged as a re- interpretation of the Georgian vernacular that populates Dublin City. The living spaces are given a greater ceiling height to reinforce their impor tance at the centre of family li fe and the recessed entrance porch is an exaggerated version of a typical Georgian one.

Key to the design was the client ’s requirement for his new house to be energy ef f icient, cheap to run and to make the best of the site. The form, layout and detail of the house result from these requirements and were guided by best principles of sustainable design.

The house is orientated east west and is kept t ight to the nor th boundary to open up the south façade of the house to the sun. The south façade has then been composed using full -height tr iple-glazed windows and sliding screens to maximize the solar gain. The east, west and nor th façades are extremely thermally ef f icient.

A double height circulation space is located at the hear t of the house, linking the two f loors. All the rooms open of f this central space which utilises the stack ef fect to naturally ventilate the house.

The house is a combination of the best of both new and traditional construction technologies. The super- insulated, air t ight t imber framed structure has been precision-made of f site. This hi-per formance structure has then been wrapped in beautifully craf ted traditional brickwork and timber.

Role: Project ArchitectLocation : Mount Anvil le Road, Dublin 14Status : Completed 2011Client : Dr. Kevin O’FlynnBudget : €650,000Area : 250m²Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny

BALLYFERMOT COLLEGE

This project is a refurbishment of Bally fermot College of Fur ther Education located in east Dublin on behalf of the Of f ice of Public Works. The 1960s college had been causing problems, mainly due to a badly leaking roof. The refurbishment sought to resolve energy loss, ventilation and water ingress dif f iculties. It involved the replacement of the roof and the refurbishment of the interior.

The building is a 3rd level educational VEC facility with circa 1600 students. The project included the removal of asbestos elements, an upgrade of the thermal per formance, the replacement of roof f inishes (3,160m²) and roof glazing (900m²) and the renewal of the services installations and the re-f inishing of the interior.

The main client condition was for the college to remain open throughout the works, which required that the works be under taken over two 3-month phases, during the summer breaks of 2010 (Phase I) & 2011 (Phase II), to minimise disruption to the staf f and to be completed in time for the star t of term on each occasion.

The result is that classrooms are f il led with natural light from the roof lights, an even nor th light to avoid glare. The classrooms are now much easier to heat and to ventilate, which is very impor tant given that there are 1,600 students in the college.

“ I found Aughey O’Flaher ty Architects terr if ic to work with. They did their homework well in terms of research and preparation and they really l istened to what I had to say in terms of what the college needed. They dealt with all the issues and they delivered.”- Principal, Maureen Conway

Role: Assistant Architect Phase I, Project Architect Phase IILocation : Bally fermot, Dublin 10Status : Completed 2011Client : OPW, CDVEC, BCFEBudget : €2,200,000Area : 3,500m²Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny

ROSLEA EXTENSION

Situated of f a quiet country road, the site is gently sloping, with stunning views of the hills of Co. Fermanagh. The site contains an 18th century cottage and outhouse. The barrel vaulted main house, reminiscent of an agricultural shed, is located opposite and parallel to the cottage thereby forming an informal cour tyard with the outhouse to the west.

The extension is ar ticulated in the language of the cottage and outhouse and therefore leaving the barrel vaulted house as the primary structure on the site. It ’s form and it ’s clustering around the existing structures on the site is evocative of traditional farmyards. The form is expressed as a restrained, paired back interpretation of the cottage vernacular. It is similar in propor tion to the existing cottage, doubled to create two main spaces within. It is copper clad, as is the barrel roof of the main house, which strengthens the relationship of the two forms. The material expression along with misaligned openings give the extension a playful quality.

Internally, the extension is envisaged as a timber lined box. This is achieved on a tight budget by sizing the rooms to standard plywood dimensions. The plywood is also used as book shelves along the external walls which exaggerates the wall thickness and allows for a built- in seat and desk.

The extension connects to the existing house at the lower split level, the new bedroom located close to the existing ones and the reading area / cinema room beyond. A secret pivot door allows the cinema room to be sealed of f.

The construction is t imber frame, pre-fabricated of f site allowing the extension to be completed before forming the connection ope between new and existing buildings thus minimising construction time on site.

Role: Project ArchitectLocation : Cromaghy, Roslea, Co. FermanaghStatus : Planning Granted 2008Client : Tommy & Joanne CallaghanBudget : UndisclosedArea : 69m²Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny

3 HOUSES CONG

This site is located outside the village of Cong, Co Galway. It is in a coniferous forest of 150 acres planted over 50 years by the clients’ family. It has a southerly aspect and overlooks Lough Corrib.

The clients are sisters and came to us separately, one af ter another. Their brief was to be sited beside each other, to be concealed from one another and to use the wonder ful views in the design of the house. A network of toepaths was requested to link the houses, and their children.

The houses are placed according to the contours of their site, are angled parallel to and sit into the contours. The form of each house is generated by those contours to integrate it with the ground. The pitched roof section is integral to the design. It runs parallel with the slope of the site and reduces the scale. It gives a variety and generosity of height in the upper level rooms and enables the clerestory window arrangement at its higher side and frames the views at its lower side. This frame is accentuated by the eaves overhang.

The use of natural light is integral to the project. Each house is very open to the south with small windows to the nor th. Clerestory windows allow light in from above.

The materials used are stone, t imber and copper. The heavy nor th walls are made with a local silur ian limestone in random rubble courses. The timber panels and windows are made and framed in iroko on the lighter south side. Glulam timbers are used to order the spaces and relate to the rhythm of the trees outside. The roofs are f inished in untreated copper seamed sheeting.

The houses were built by a wonder ful local builder with a tradition and passion for the craf t of making. This project has taken 9 years and was completed in Spring 2008.

Role: Architectural AssistantLocation : Ardaun West, Cong, Co. GalwayStatus : Completed 2008 {9 years}Client : PrivateBudget : €3,200,000Area : 330m², 390m², 440m²Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny

HOUSE ON ACHILL ISLAND

This project is a refurbishment and extension of a 1920’s traditional Ir ish cottage. The client ’s brief was to refurbish and extend the existing cottage, to:

- provide a 3 bedroom home with an open feel- maximise the light and the surrounding views- provide low maintenance hard-wearing f inishes- improve the thermal per formance

The project was completed on a relatively tight budget which lead to a simple design solution that responds to the local vernacular, connects to and frames the landscape.

The original cottage was retained, old extensions were demolished and a new extension was constructed to the side, cranked at an angle in response to the form of the site and to take full advantage of the views out to sea. A local contractor from the island, who has an excellent reputation for quality, carr ied out the build. It later emerged that his father had built the original cottage.

Role: Assistant ArchitectLocation : Pollagh, Achil l Island, Co. MayoStatus : Completed 2011Client : Clive & Catríona BrownleeBudget : €200,000Area : 145m² {extension : 94m²}Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny, Karen Brownlee

OTHER PROJECTS

DARTMOUTH SQUARE

Role: Assistant ArchitectLocation : Dar tmouth Square, Ranelagh, Dublin 6Status : Completed 2009Client : PrivateBudget : €400,000Area : 250m² {extension : 45m²}Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny

INVERTED MOUNTAIN

Role: Project Director / Project ArchitectLocation : Letter frack, Connemara, Co. GalwayStatus : Completed 2008 {8 days}Client : EASA IrelandBudget : €8,000Area : 25m²Photography : Sándor Lil ienberg, Dermot Reynolds

GALLERY STUDY

Photography : Marie-Louise Halpenny