House with views over Dublin Bay

Location : Rathfarnham, Dublin
Status : planning permission granted
January 2011

The brief was to create a sustainable, flexible and adaptable family home for a young family who lived in a cottage on the site and had strong associations with the area. Our challenge was to insert a new house c.200 sqm unobtrusively into the landscape, whilst positioning key rooms to take advantage of the orientation, natural site levels and breathtaking views. The solution was an L shaped spilt level dwelling nestled into the backdrop of the wooded hillside. The lower block (sleeping accommodation) which is part buried is essentially a stone plinth to the upper block (living accommodation) which is lightweight and transparent. A palette of materials was carefully selected to reinforce this concept (stone, hardwood, green/grey fibre cement and sedum green roofs) and most importantly to render the new dwelling inconspicuous.