A Grand Design by Aughey O'Flaherty Architects
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012
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The Judges of the 2012 Grand Design Awards gave special praise to a project by Dublin firm Aughey O’Flaherty Architects for a house in Mount Anville, commenting on “its beautiful combination of materials, use of sunlight, and for integrating ecological elements so seamlessly into such a contemporary design.” Project architect, Joseph Kevin Mac Mahon, was present in London to collect the award along with home owner Kevin O’Flynn and the contractor who built the house, David Smith. The awards were presented by Kevin McCloud to a packed audience in the EXCEL in London in May.
The Judges’ Citation
What us judges really loved about this house was that it wasn’t all about a massive plot and a massive budget – after all, that’s not really right for the 2012 climate. Measuring 250 square metres, this new house replaced a Twenties bungalow and was a response to a brief for an energy-efficient home that made the most of its site.
It’s a re-imagining of the Georgian vernacular that populates Dublin, with varying ceiling heights according to the importance of the room and a recessed entrance porch that’s a twist on the Georgian entrance. The house is orientated east west and is kept tight to the north boundary to open up the house to the sun. The living spaces open directly onto a sunny courtyard garden to the south of the site, while large openings maximise solar gain. The team went for traditional materials – brick, timber and concrete – but opted to build using the latest pre-fabrication construction technologies. The super-insulated, airtight timber framed structure was precision-made off-site, then wrapped in brickwork and timber.
The overall winner in this year’s Grand Designs Awards is The Bronze House in Sawbridgeworth, East Hertfordshire.
Categories: Architecture | Awards
