EXTENSION AND REFURBISHMENT TO BALLYBLAKE HOUSE
Planning 2017 / Completion 2021
AAI Award 2022
SLA Team: Steve Larkin, Deepka Abbi (Project Architect) & Mark Corcoran.
Contractor: Lalor Builders
Joiner: PJ Dunbar
Structural Engineer: David Maher
Photography: Shantanu Starick
Ballyblake House is a two hundred year old farmhouse that had been uninhabited for over thirty years. It is on a secluded site within an old pattern of hedgerows and laneways. An external green space, yard and meadow are arranged to frame movement through the site, to provide a southerly aspect to the external spaces and to benefit from the interior spatial character of the site.
The character of the house and site was protected. Despite challenges with the condition and original construction, it was carefully refurbished to maintain the existing spatial relationships on the site and preserve personal, historical and cultural significance.
A new extension, which adopts a form and colour similar to the agricultural sheds of the locality, is placed behind the existing house to minimise spatial impact and to open new views to Brandon Hill. This is facilitated with the taking down and rebuilding of one hedgerow (to the rear) and the replanting of two ash trees.
The extension blankets the house to the north for improved thermal performance while an oculus provides direct sunlight to the interior spaces throughout the day.
