Knockraha house in County Cork, by TOB, selected for the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2019 (opens in new tab)
Working with modest materials and everyday sites to impressive effect, Irish architect Thomas O Brien set up his solo practice in Dublin in 2013. A recently completed extension and complete reconfiguration of a rural house in the village of Knockraha in County Cork, neatly embodies his approach and creative flair through its pragmatic yet aesthetically pleasing and inventive solutions.
‘The extension seeks to modify and correct a problematic suburban-type house, that has been dropped on a rural green field site without any real consideration of its context,’ explains O Brien. ‘The project addresses this problem by reconfiguring the ground floor of the existing house and extending it in length to create a series of enfilade rooms and sheltered outdoor spaces.’
Working with simple, almost utilitarian materials and overall feel, the architect aimed for a project was feels ‘in keeping with its agrarian context’ – an element that remains very important in the studio’s work. ‘[Context] influences it greatly’, he says. ‘As much as I look to international and historical references, I think all of my projects are greatly referential to the eccentricities of the landscape and vernacular buildings of Ireland.’
The ‘deliberately’ odd roof made out of blue coloured zinc immediately makes the fairly low composition stand out. Interior materials range from simple timber boards, to bright yellow Formica, black fossilised Irish limestone and cork flooring tiles.
‘My projects reference the eccentricities of the landscape and vernacular buildings of Ireland’
TOB
The design responds to the brief in an economical way – both in terms of finances and aesthetic humility – yet remains robust and easily legible, making this a comfortable and practical home; in line with further residential work by the studio, such as a farmhouse in Killan and Normal House in Dublin, both of which helped earn him a shortlisting for an Emerging Architecture award in 2018.
‘I love designing homes for people’, says O Brien. ‘It is a privilege and hugely satisfying when someone places so much trust in you, and you see how happy they are with the final product.’
INFORMATION
tobarchitect.ie (opens in new tab)
WALLPAPER* ARCHITECTS’ DIRECTORY 2019 (opens in new tab)
-
Sabato De Sarno is appointed new creative director of Gucci
Italian designer Sabato De Sarno – formerly of Valentino – is the new creative director of Gucci, replacing Alessandro Michele who left the house last November
-
Sotheby’s to auction Marie-Antoinette’s armchairs, amid other regal lots, in aid of French château
Sotheby’s Paris will auction works from the collection of interior designer Jacques Garcia in aid of Château du Champ de Bataille
-
Marco Campardo wins Design Museum’s emerging designer prize
The Design Museum, London, announces Marco Campardo as winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize, an annual accolade to celebrate and support emerging designers
-
Escape to this off-grid artist studio on the Irish island of Inis Oírr
For the aptly named Drop Everything cultural biennial, a perfect pod has popped up on the rocky headland of Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, located off the west coast of Galway
-
Architects Directory Alumnus: Grafton Architects
The Wallpaper* Architects Directory has turned 20. Conceived in 2000 as our index of emerging architectural talent, this annual listing of promising practices, has, over the years, spanned styles and continents; yet always championing the best and most exciting young studios and showcasing inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. To mark the occasion, in the next months, we will be looking back at some of our over-500 alumni, to catch up about life and work since their participation and exclusively launch some of their latest completions. Ireland's Grafton Architects was featured in the magazine's first ever Architects Directory, in 2000, and has since grown exponentially in architectural output and influence, becoming, amongst other things, one of the world's go-to studios for inspiring education buildings. Here, we look at their School of Economics at Université Toulouse 1 Capitole in France.
-
Grafton's Town House is a celebration of openness and community
Grafton Architects designs Town House for Kingston University London, combining a library and a dance school in a building conceived around light, openness and social interaction
-
Dublin house gets brutalist makeover by GKMP Architects
-
Pálás in Galway takes arthouse cinema to the next level
-
‘Freespace’ highlights openness and optimism at 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale
-
DUA
-
Complex geometry: Heneghan Peng’s Palestinian Museum takes its cue from a natural context
