Compass Hill House

Kinsale, County Cork

This project is for the refurbishment of an existing house with breath-taking views over Kinsale and the River Bandon.

One of the main challenges with the existing house is the lack of connection between rooms and the surrounding landscape, and in particular, the circulation routes between rooms. The proposed design seeks to re-address this by placing the new spaces (extended living room and new day room) on the outer edges of the house and by connecting them with a new circulation route. The new circulation route, in the form of an enclosed loggia, connects the Day Room to the Living Room.

The “loggia” re-organises and re-defines the house by creating a new circulation path on the outer edge of the house. It takes the form of a folded plain that folds over to contain the extended spaces and new terraces by framing the views over the river and distant landscape.