View point: Niall McLaughlin's house conversion and addition respect and enrich their coastal environment.The architect for this project, Niall McLaughlin, was given the challenge of producing a building that would match the striking beauty of its site, at Clonakilty, County Cork County Cork (Irish: Contae Chorcaí) is the most southwesterly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. Cork is nicknamed "The Rebel County", as a result of the support of the townsmen of Cork in 1491 for Perkin Warbeck, a , on the west coast of Ireland. In their project description, the practice makes reference to the 'beautiful shards of metamorphic rock metamorphic rock Any of a class of rocks that result from the alteration of preexisting rocks in response to changing geological conditions, including variations in temperature, pressure, and mechanical stress. that finger out to the sea from the base of the small cliffs'; the new building element of the project, which adds to the conversion of a boathouse and the coastguard's cottage, produces a built shard of its own, distinctive but responsive to the geological forms in which it sits. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The conversion elements of the project are simple and effective, providing a master bedroom and bathroom in the cottage, and guest rooms in the boathouse. The new extension for living/dining is reached via a glazed glaze n. 1. A thin smooth shiny coating. 2. A thin glassy coating of ice. 3. a. A coating of colored, opaque, or transparent material applied to ceramics before firing. b. cloister cloister, unroofed space forming part of a religious establishment and surrounded by the various buildings or by enclosing walls. Generally, it is provided on all sides with a vaulted passageway consisting of continuous colonnades or arcades opening onto a court. , the whole based round a quiet courtyard For alternative meanings of the word "court", see: Court (disambiguation). A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. . The experience of each element of the design, from arrival to sitting at the dining table, is a journey in miniature, with vistas of sea and coast powerful, but not ubiquitous Found in large quantities everywhere. This English word means "all over the place." , and complemented by domestic interior views. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The temptation to provide maximum views from all points at all times has been wisely resisted, and the cliche of the big picture window in the extension has also been avoided, in favour of a pair of separated framed views, one from the living area and one from the dining area immediately next to the courtyard. Responding to light has been a successful driver for the project, given that the relatively sheltered location of the existing buildings, on a south-east facing site, has resulted in a lack of sunlight. As the architect puts it. 'We have designed the extension to capture the last scraps of sun as it declines behind the hill in the early evening'. The new extension more than makes up for this, producing a totality TOTALITY. The whole sum or quantity. 2. In making a tender, it is requisite that the totality of the sum due should be offered, together with the interest and costs. Vide Tender. in which comfort, aspect, light and geographical drama are synthesised to great effect. This is an architectural project where success has been achieved by treating each potential difficulty as a constructive opportunity. Rather than a series of tactical responses, which end up compromising the diagram of framed views and calculated routes, the building has a feeling of serenity and completeness that belie be·lie tr.v. be·lied, be·ly·ing, be·lies 1. To picture falsely; misrepresent: "He spoke roughly in order to belie his air of gentility" James Joyce. the design effort required to achieve such an outcome. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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