Kenmare house, West Ireland Property, Home Photos, Architect, Residential Building Design, Picture

Kenmare house Ireland

New Irish Residential Architecture – design by Carson and Crushell Architects

2 Dec 2010

Kenmare house

Location: County Kerry

Design: Carson and Crushell Architects

The Kenmare house project is a major reworking of a dilapidated 1960s bungalow overlooking Kenmare River. The existing property was poorly insulated and much of the fabric was in a deteriorated state. Furthermore, there were significant issues of accessibility for the new owners in what was a cramped interior. Carson and Crushell Architects were initially approached by the clients to refurbish the house and investigate an extension to the rear.

The architects, conscious of the tight budget and anxious to retain the proportional qualities of the main living space, convinced the clients to reconsider. Rather than provide a conventional, ‘new room’ extension to make use of the stunning views and to address issues of accessibility and restricted internal space, the interior was ‘extended’ through an entirely different approach.

Existing openings were enlarged and a number of new openings were made. Within these, the new aluminium clad timber windows and doors were fitted flush with the external insulation thereby extending the interior outwards across the depth of every opening in the external envelope. In places this method increased the internal room area by up to 7%. To the rear, south facing garden the patio doors open out onto a terrace of Kilkenny limestone level with the interior, further extending the living spaces into the landscape.

All internal rooms were reorganised, improving relationships between the bedrooms and their new en-suites. The new kitchen was also relocated to adjoin the unique central courtyard that was retained and refurbished as part of the project. As part of the overall upgrade, the roof was re-insulated and a new heating system with integrated solar panels was incorporated, raising the BER of the house from an F to a B3.

House at Maytree – Building Information

Project size 170m2
Value: Undisclosed
Duration: 6 months
Location: Kenmare, Co.Kerry

Architects: Carson and Crushell Architects
Contractor: Jeremy Walsh Project Management
External Insulation: Greenspan
Windows and Doors: Windox
Limestone landscaping and furniture: Kilkenny Limestone
Energy Consultancy: Aone Energy Consultants
Kitchen: Kelmac Kitchens

Kenmare house prior to redevelopment:

Carson and Crushell Architects

Douglas Carson and Rosaleen Crushell began their collaboration in 2003 following their graduation from University College Dublin. Based in London for six years, they worked for a number of award-winning practices including Eric Parry Architects and RIBA Gold Medal winner Edward Cullinan. Douglas continues to teach alongside practice while Rosaleen is undertaking a Masters in Urban and Building Conservation in University College Dublin. As part of their Design Directory for 2010, international design magazine Wallpaper* selected Carson and Crushell Architects as one of the world’s emerging Architects

Kenmare house County Kerry images / information from Carson and Crushell Architects

Location: County Kerry, Ireland