Our Process

Listen

We like to work collaboratively with clients, we listen to people, help develop the brief, visit the site, and so begins a series of discussions about how to make the most of what is available, and identify what is really important or urgent as well as the big challenges that lie ahead. We hope that some aspects of the clients’ local knowledge and personal experience gets included in designs.

Design

Design is our core service, it is what we are particularly good at, we enjoy it and we hope you will enjoy taking part in the design process with us. We design spaces after a careful study of the site, local materials and forms, always with an awareness of budget and time constraints. We design many iterations of a project, we test the site with models, light studies, material palettes and we share this process with our clients, the clients become part of the design team. Every project is a new beginning, each project is quite different from others and this ensures a bespoke, considered project. We aim to design efficient, quiet buildings and gardens that connect to their broader landscape.

Detail

Carlo Scarpa said - Treasure the things you touch. Collaborating with talented craftspeople - Stone masons, Joiners, Metal workers and restoration specialists is at the heart of a good project. Attention to detail and seeing a project through to the end is the only way to deliver on initial ambitions. Our interest in furniture, gardening and ceramics means we care about the things you touch. Samples, trial sections and visualisations at every stage of the job means that design and improvements continue to the very end. Materials and how they age and weather gives a solidity and timelessness to a building and its garden.

Deliver

We spend a lot of time on drawing packages, for planning and construction, this is followed up by regular site visits and a lot of communication with contractors. Sometimes we use the word - overcommunicate and it is sometimes necessary to discuss things repeatedly through drawings, meetings and samples. To achieve high levels of building efficiency there needs to be a huge amount of coordination between different disciplines - energy consultants, plumbers, BER assessors, HRV installers.

Conservation

Conservation of older buildings is a core part of our practice. Restoring a building is something of a journey of discovery which also gives the pleasure of fixing. A lot of our work with older buildings is adapting them for contemporary family use and making them warmer and dryer. Protected structures often have tricky planning or fire constraints and there is often considerable research required before projects can begin, choice of contractors and specialists is critical and these are processes we enjoy and we can provide a full range of design and advice through to completion:

  • Historic reports.

  • Damp proofing.

  • Structural changes.

  • Repointing.

  • Restoration of joinery.

  • Restoration of historic flooring.

  • Lime render and plaster.

  • Lath and plaster repair.

  • Window restoration.

  • Efficient heating.

  • Renewable energy in historic houses.

  • Pinning of ceilings.

  • Restoration of plaster mouldings.

  • Stone repair and cleaning.

  • Lighting strategies.

  • Garden restoration.

  • Disabled access.

  • Communications and security measures.

  • Damp proofing and breathability.


RIAI Accredited in Conservation

Experimentation

Each project is a fresh start and a new opportunity to explore different ways of living lightly. We are interested in the concept of ‘Enough’, how much space/privacy/light does one need? How can one most effectively connect with the landscape? There are no formulas to good architectural design and at this time of immense change, when we must find new ways to live and question everything that went before we are excited by the potential of reusing existing buildings in new ways.

Sustainability

We have designed several passiv houses, we often work with energy consultants and are particularly interested in new technologies that allow light touch renovations of older buildings. We always take a fabric first approach rather than relying on overly complicated services. Our experience allows us to help clients through this potentially daunting area constantly focussing back on how the building will actually be used by the occupants. Our house/office in Blackrock is a certified passiv build, come and visit.

Our Clients

Interested in working with us? Contact us here.