River view house basks in light

Tommy Barker says this new hillside property is a slice of old Cork

YOU get much of your heat for free at this top-spec Hollymount house. Thanks to its glazing, its direct south facing aspect and extremely high insulation levels, it is close to being a passive home in terms of its future energy consumption.

That’s the quiet boast of the people who built it, keenly keeping an eye on future energy costs and consumption while not sparing a cent on the capital outlay.