Cardinal Point

Kinsale

The site for the dwelling sits on the steep slopes of Compass Hill, Kinsale. The site is afforded spectacular views along Kinsale Harbour and out over the New Bridge to the Bandon River estuary. There was an existing house on the site, that sat close to the edge of the escarpment. This house was in a poor condition and the whole property required modernisation.  Mindful of the designated scenic landscape, the key concept was to assimilate the replacement house more successfully into its environment. As part of this approach, the design proposal has a flat roof that lowers the volume of the house. The new roof creates a more visually sympathetic elevation, and in addition, the proposals sought to break down the scale of the house, by dividing it into separate ‘pavilions’, which in turn break down into small elements or forms.

The ‘pavilions’ are aligned organically and each has its own separate wing for various purposes (living area, sleeping quarters, support pavilion). These volumes are placed to follow the line of the top of the slope to maximise views.  The existing house footprint was replaced, to provide a “Living Pavilion”, entered via a covered entrance area and includes an Open Plan Kitchen/Living/Dining Area, linked to a Snug room. This is supported by a Guest Bathroom and Utility Room.  The accommodation for the “Bedroom Pavilion” contains 5no. Bedrooms supported by a main bathroom. The Master Bedroom Suite is the first room that connects to the “knuckle” and maximises the views over the Bandon River. The “Bedroom Pavilion” angled away from the escarpment to minimise visual impact. The form of the “Bedroom Pavilion” is manipulated and eroded so that each bedroom captures a view towards Kinsale Harbour.

Some of the challenges of the project included, fitting the large scale accommodation on the narrow, elevated site. We responded by creating a linear form that we bended sculpturally to follow the line of the escarpment. The steep topography and narrow form of the site also caused buildability challenges, due to the difficulty of contractors’ access, but was overcome by consideration of the phasing of the project and constructing the cantilevered balcony towards the end of the project. The site is also very exposed and therefore another challenge was designing a scheme in a sensitive manner, to integrate and assimilate the building into its natural landscape. The materials inlcude grey render and stone which will carefully weather over time, to articulate a sense of permanence and quality,  thus helping to reinforce the existing sense of place.

The robustness and refinement of the detailing and the design principals of integrating the built form and colour of the house into the natural context marries sensitive architecture, with technical competence, to create the very best circumstances for the house to retain its visual appeal and weather in a measured and graceful way over time. The aspiration, to use ordinary construction methods thoughtfully and with imagination, to create an extraordinary house, was successfully achieved.