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RESIDENTIAL

PORTMARNOCK

New Build One-Off Family Dwelling

Location:Portmarnock, North County Dublin

Status:Completed 2008

Client:Private

This house is located in Portmarnock, North County Dublin. The half acre site orientated North-South is accessed off a shared entrance driveway, has road frontage & is bounded by houses to the North & East. The brief was for a family house to take advantage of the orientation & to provide privacy from the adjoining houses.

The L shaped part-single storey part-two storey house was conceived as two continuous overlapping & intertwining volumes with contrasting sides, solid & closed to the North & East and open to the South & West. The blank East facing wall, continuously lit internally by rooflights is designed to create a natural boundary & to conceal the open nature of the other side of the house, revealed when entered.

The house is approached along a ramped driveway & doubling back entered under a cantilever into a double height rooflit hallway. This hallway acts as a fulcrum where the two volumes seamlessly connect and slide under & over one another & where all parts of the house can be seen & accessed from.

Designed so that people will move intuitively through the house, steps & a wide ope lead to the larger higher volume containing the open plan living areas with a smaller ope leading to the lower bedroom volume. A formal living room facing west is accessed separately off the hallway & the hidden stairs gives access to the first floor mastersuite accommodation & terrace.

The living volume slips over the lower bedroom volume and wraps around to form the first floor accommodation with the south west corner window sitting on the junction of & emphasising the point where the two volumes meet.

The different sides of the house are articulated by the glazing with long low flush fixed north facing windows at seated eye level in the living areas located opposite full height glazed screens opening out to the south facing terrace & the blank east facing entrance wall contrasting with the west facing full height glazed screens in the bedroom volume opening out to the lower terrace.

Site Area:	0.2 hectares
Internal Floor Area:	270 M2

PRESS

DECEMBER 2011
Plan Magazine

MARCH 2011
Irish Examiner

JANUARY 2011
House & Home - Build Your Own

NOVEMBER 2010
Sunday Times Home Supplement

SEPTEMBER 2010
Unhappy Hipsters

APRIL 2010
Sunday Times Home Supplement

AWARDS

2010 OPUS ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION AWARDS
Highly Commended in the 'Under 2 Million Category’