Olympic style in new 400 house scheme

FED up with standard house design and layout? For a blast of something fresh and different, try the Olympic, the last houses and most novel house type to go into the Pembroke Wood scheme in the harbour town of Passage West in Co Cork.

The three-storey houses are built into the top of the sloping site which dictated much of the lay-out. They have a staggered, split-level plan, and five varied internal levels, which means lots of steps, but used in such a way that they become a feature of the house rather than just a continuous stairwell.

"It would be a great party house. There's a great flow through the rooms and there's loads of space for a family," enthuses selling agent Jackie Cohalan of Cohalan Downing, acting jointly in the scheme with Keane Mahony Smith.