Egmont House

Kanturk

Egmont House, a Protected Structure, is a detached three-bay two-storey over half-basement house, built c. 1810, having four-bay south-west elevation and extension to west. Formerly in use as hotel the property is now in use as a single dwelling. The brief is to refurbish the existing dance hall and stables to provide a series of separate residential units. The proposed design approved by Cork County Council and currently been implemented, sought to sensitively refurbish the existing structure by minimising the impact of new interventions.  The design approach,  inspired by the painting “Saint Jeromes at his study” by Antonello da Messina, proposes that the existing large open spaces are subdivided by a series of ‘furniture’ pieces.  These ‘furniture’ pieces contain both the more cellular spaces such as bedrooms, bathrooms and utilities, but also form a platform for a mezzanine level. The ‘furniture’ pieces creates zones with the existing structures for living areas and communal living.  The design of the ‘furniture’ pieces has been developed so that they are removable in the future without any detrimental impact on the existing structures.  The mezzanine allows the floor area to be maximised within the double height volumes of the stables and the hall. In addition, the mezzanine spaces are animated by the delicate timber roof structure of the Protected buildings.