Square House
A mews house was constructed on the site of an old garage in the grounds of a large period house overlooking the sea outside Dublin. The project explores the boundary between nature and abstract architecture; the concept – a cube subdivided into a Cartesian grid- makes four interlocking squares, one open to the sky, three roofed, offering a range of views and sightings of the sea and gardens. The house had to be discreet, providing privacy for its occupants, yet taking advantage of the elevation over the bay.- windows are grouped, certain views framed, leaving plain walls as surface for the shadow of trees to play on. Like a Roman house, its life is focused inwards or to a particular vista.
Each elevation is treated as a simple plane with a limited palette of materials which continue inside; location close to the eastern and southern boundaries of the site limited the potential for windows on these sides. The open court can be closed with an oak sliding screen or opened as a west facing entrance space- it is treated like an outdoor room with a window to the sea – a low horizontal slit framing a very particular slice of landscape. It doubles as a private garden closed off from the main house, or as an introduction to the living space. On its eastern flank are two linked cubes of living space –these are lit from the sky, from the north by long windows opening on to a terrace and through a translucent cast glass wall to the open court. Internally the palette of materials is limited – oak boards, slate, cast glass, stainless steel and white walls.
