HOLLY COTTAGE

This project deals with providing a substantial extension to an existing cottage near the Dublin Mountains. The cottage had already been extended on at least two occasions in the past, the most recent of these being a single storey flat roofed extension to the rere which acted as a barrier between the living spaces and the garden and the surrounding countryside. It also prevented the penetration of light into the deeper parts of the building.

This extension was demolished and replaced by a single volume with a pitched roof, moved some 2.5 metres away from the wall of the existing cottage to form a roof-lit gallery between the original building and the new work. This gallery provides for the introduction of light into the centre of the building and acts as an extension of the living space by virtue of three large pivoting door panels.

The living room and kitchen which occupy the extension establish a new relationship with the garden and the site in general. The corner window with its cantilevered seating area and copper roof extends the relationship of the inner spaces diagonally into the site and towards the distant hills. A timber deck becomes a transitional area between the internal spaces and the soft landscape further down the garden.

The new extension with its pitched roof creates a relationship with the original cottage both in its form and in its material finish. The exposed timber trusses and the cedar sheeted ceiling in the living space recognises the rustic quality of the house and its environment. A small bathroom ensuite extension off the master bedroom at the opposite end of the building with its corner window develops a reduced scale relationship between it and the larger living room extension.

The exterior of the building is finished in white rendered walls with a roof of blue-black slates and white American oak joinery. The projecting bay window is clad copper.

Photographs copyright Design Strategies.