House in Moy

A sympathetic extension to a traditional Irish cottage.

 

This house extension to a 1940s cottage off the coast of Co. Clare is designed to cater for a young family. The cottage is typical from the era with three rooms divided by two chimney breasts. It was decided early on that the character and feel of the cottage with its high ceilings and existing fireplace would be ideal for retaining as living spaces. This gave a scope for the extension to consist of the required additional bedrooms. In the proposal, the layout is reconfigured to form a new entrance between the living and sleeping volumes. The new structure is set apart from the old building by way of colour and materiality. Familiar agricultural materials including a metal roof has been chosen to help define the new bedroom block as an element that serves the old building rather than competing with it. The kitchen has been positioned to the south for generous floor space and direct sunlight from sunrise to sunset. The sitting room is then placed to the back of the house with a sunken floor for a sense of hunkering down in an enclosure with views out at the windswept landscape.