A BEAUTY IN STUNNING RATHNURE

“ I’m

IMMENSELY PROUD of the HOUSE.”

The clients of this beautiful property situated in Rathnure, County Wexford are a young couple who aimed to build a new energy efficient lifetime home in which to raise their family. They acquired a greenfield site on the edge of Rathnure village in rural Wexford and approached Joe Fallon Architectural Design with their brief in September 2016. The clients wanted the house to take advantage of the surrounding mountain views and have internal spaces flooded with natural light.

The designers over this project were Billy Conran (formerly of Joe Fallon Architectural Design) of Project Orange in London and Joe Fallon of Joe Fallon Architectural Design. Mr. Conran is working as an Architect with Project Orange. Since joining in 2018 he has worked on projects in a wide range of sectors including residential, retail, office and hotel.

“ The DESIGN process was an enjoyable EXPERIENCE.”

Before joining Project Orange, Billy honed his residential design skills working at the Bunclody office of Joe Fallon Architectural Design, who specialize in bespoke one off homes. Billy moved to London in 2017 and began working at ZAP Architecture. At ZAP, he worked on numerous pop-up projects ranging from outdoor cinemas to rooftop Pergolas. He has also completed a body of work that was exhibited in the Irish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale.

“Once I graduated from UCD, Joe Fallon hired me and I moved back home to Wexford for almost a year before moving over to London. Joe’s practice would be one of the more well-known Architectural practices in Wexford and I was delighted that my sister, Julie and her husband Harry

approached the office to do the design for their house,’’ said Billy Conran. “Myself, Julie and Harry get on really well and I had absolutely no problem with being involved in their house. It was the first project I had worked on since graduating and it was a larger scale than I was used to at the time but thankfully Julie and Harry trusted me with a lot of design scope. They were really great to work with and were not afraid to go a little bit more contemporary with the house. Early on we settled on the idea of bringing a modern twist to the traditional Irish vernacular. The main form of the home takes the shape of a single cell Irish cottage. “From this central axis, two timber clad elements are pulled out to give the building a certain dynamism. Julie and Harry both love to cook so the kitchen was always going to be the heart of the house. Modern living has evolved where it is all about that big room (kitchen/ living space) so getting that room right was really important and we worked on that area quite a lot.’’ “The design process was an enjoyable experience for the three of us and everyone is delighted with the finished project. The process began in September 2016 and it was submitted for planning the following April. I moved to London shortly afterwards. The house went on site in 2018 and Joe was then in charge of the ten

“The BUILDER did a SMASHING job.”

dering and construction process. But of course anytime I was speaking with Julie or Harry throughout the build all we could talk about was the how the house was coming along, so I always felt very involved,’’ he added.

“I’m immensely proud of the house, it’s lovely! The builder (Michael O’Farrell) did a smashing job and he gave the house a very fresh finish, and importantly Harry and Julie found him great to work with,’’ concluded Mr Conran.

The schedule of accommodation includes a spacious open plan kitchen/living/dining area, family room, office, utility room, family bathroom and four bedrooms. One bedroom was to be the master suite with an en-suite and a walk-in wardrobe. An important aspect of the brief was to have an accessible bedroom on the ground floor with an adjoining wet room. Ensuring the house was a home for life where the clients can raise a family was paramount to the brief. The clients have close ties to the locality but have not lived there for years. Building their home on the edge of the village will allow them to become lasting members of the community.

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The building has a linear form. This allows many rooms to be dual aspect while giving the house a rational circulation flow. There are moments of compression as you move through the house, which then expand to beautifully lit and spacious areas. The main living space is a sunken lounge to flow with the natural slope of the site while projecting out at 45 degrees. This gives the space a more generous ceiling height while opening up to the surrounding views of the Blackstairs mountain range. The house is orientated to let all bedrooms enjoy the sunrise while allowing the main living zone to enjoy the sun for the duration of the day.

“Working with Billy was quite fluid and we were able to throw ideas around. Dealing with family made the design process quite relaxed. Rather than attending meetings or sending emails, sketching and planning happened around the kitchen table,’’ said home owner Harry Goff.

“We’re really happy with the house. Billy’s design accurately captured our vision of what we wanted our home to be. We found that throughout the design and building process there was a lot of collaboration between ourselves, the designers and the contractor respectively. Joe Fallon Architectural Design and Michael, our contractor, played a huge role in realizing the project,’’ added Mr Goff. Careful consideration was made to ensure that the surrounding landscape is framed as you move about the house. A large window seat in the kitchen forces you to sit and relax while you gaze out to Mount Leinster. The spacious entrance hall has full height glazing to act as a warm spill out living area with mountain views.

As you move upstairs, you catch a glimpse of a lone hill in the distance through the tall stairway window. The first floor corridor has a window at head height which spans the entire corridor. This gives you a continuous view as you move about the first floor. This elegant strip window also brings balance to the façade as it matches the length of the full height glazing on the ground floor. This home is all about view and light. You are struck with both as you enter the dual aspect master bedroom which has a feature corner window that provides you with the most spectacular view of the Blackstairs mountains bathed in sun, as they sweep around you to the north and east. There is a well-considered materials palette that allows you to read the building easily. The simple form of the first floor has a crisp white render. The contrast of the first floor, to the dynamic movement of the ground floor, is accentuated by the use of full height glazing and Siberian larch cladding which together form a continuous band across the front façade. The first floor acts as a white cottage placed on top of a contemporary timber form. This becomes particularly apparent when you walk out onto the patio and see the first floor cantilever beyond the splayed living block. The house has an A1 BER rating with energy efficent double glazed windows, PV panels and an air to water heat pump with underfloor heating installed. Without a good ventilation system, your home can fall victim to several problems including any moisture in the air forming condensation and encouraging the growth of mould. Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation provides an ideal ventilation solution and the technology couldn’t be more

“Working with BILLY was quite FLUID.”

straightforward! The MHRV system installed in this property is the LO-Carbon Sentinel Kinectic Plus from Newstar. The Sentinel Kinetic Plus benefits from the latest high efficiency, backward curved impeller design, ensuring the lowest possible energy consumption, ultra quiet operation and an exceptional performance range covering small one bed apartments to the largest of houses. “I would be friendly with Julie’s Dad, John and Billy, her brother worked in the office for me. We were delighted to get the job in Rathnure. Julie and Harry’s house is fabulous, it was a lovely job to be involved in and we wish them all the best for the future,’’ enthused Joe Fallon of Joe Fallon Architectural Design.

CONTACT LIST

ARCHITECT: Joe Fallon,

Joe Fallon Architectural Design, Ryland House, Ryland Street, Bunclody, County Wexford 053-9377633 www.joefallon.com info@joefallon.com

Billy Conran,

Project Orange www.projectorange.com

BUILDING CONTRACTOR: Michael O’Farrell,

Michael O’Farrell Development Ltd, Lacken, New Ross, County Wexford 051-428011 - 087-8346041 www.mofarrell.com mofarrellcons@yahoo.co.uk

ENGINEER: Eamon Larkin,

Riva, Crosstown, County Wexford 087-9665093 eamonlarkin@yahoo.com

KITCHEN & FITTED FURNITURE: Karl Cullen,

Karl Cullen Fitted Furniture, Rockfield, Milehouse, Enniscorthy, County Wexford 086-3313850 www.karlcullen.ie sales@karlcullen.ie

WINDOWS: Munster Joinery,

Munster Joinery, Ballydesmond, County Cork, P51 PD71 - 064-7751151 www.munsterjoinery.ie info@munsterjoinery.ie

TILER: Richard Purcell,

Summersweet Tile & Marble, 087-6147230

INTERIOR DESIGN: Liz Harte,

Harte Designs Butlersland Industrial Estate, New Ross, Co. Wexford 051 421239 - liz@hartedesigns.ie www.hartedesigns.ie

HRMV: Oleksandro Dranko,

Dranko t/a NewStar, 5 Derry Bawn, Aughrim, County Wicklow, Y14 K665 086-8174720 - olek@newstar.ie www.newstar.ie

PV Solar Panels : Solar Electric,

Killanne, Rathnure, Enniscorthy, County Wexford 01-9061598 - info@solarelectric.ie www.solarelectric.ie