RIAI | Irish Architecture Awards

Citation

Architect’s Comments

The brief was to create a new kitchen/dining room with an open aspect to the garden and accessible outdoor space, orientating the accommodation away from the return next door. The brief also required consideration of utility, boiler-house, etc within the works.

The response to this brief was to clear the garden of a jumble of outhouses and take out the bottom floor of the return. The upper floor is supported on cantilever beams propped by a new concrete pier, held back from the edge of the walls above allowing a free plan below. This free plan allowed for reforming the space without over- extending the plan.

The project mediates between the desire for south light to enter the plan and the conflicting wish for privacy from the neighbouring house to the South. The new element takes the form of a drawer, cast beneath the suspended return. The outside of this insert is cast in situ of exposed aggregate concrete with granite sand. The floor and hearth and kitchen units are cast as one, in concrete with a polished finish. The surfaces against which one sits are lined in oak plywood.

Clients Comments

Having spent some time working ourselves on renovating the main part of the house, we wanted to do something very innovative yet appropriate with the kitchen and breakfast rooms at the rear of the house. As is common with the downstairs return in most Edwardian houses, the area was dark, uninviting, not very functional and with no connection to the garden outside. We also had the added issue that the kitchen looked out to a large, ugly outbuilding, used as an office by the previous owners, which was taking up most of the garden.

While there were two very simple objectives (1. refocus the kitchen so that it integrates with the garden and 2. bring in more natural light), there were a number of constraints which ultimately made our brief to The architects was very challenging.  For example, we wanted something which was very contemporary while at the same time suited the age and style of the remainder of the house and did not interfere with the renovations already undertaken.

The result has exceeded all our expectations. Not only do we have an exceptionally functional kitchen space but it is truly remarkable how the aspect of the kitchen now draws you to the back garden immediately on entering the front door. This has been achieved through the very clever use and placement of large windows, an enormous glass pivot door and a large skylight.  We are also really pleased with the look and feel of the materials used by the architects, ranging from the polished concrete floor and countertops, raw exposed concrete walls and the oak windows, doors and presses. Overall, the result has changed not only how we use the kitchen but how the house works as a total unit.