Suburban home a masterclass in understatement
A TIMBER pavilion — it’s the description used by architect Louise Cotter to describe her sinuous, curved extension on a suburban house at Ballinlough, Cork.
It’s all part of a thorough makeover of a 1970s house at Ballinlough, Cork, which she undertook for clients with a young family in a range of ages.
They were about to move out of a beautiful, 18th century property for a number of reasons, but mostly for the children’s sake.
The busy main road of their former location didn’t allow the little ones space to grow and explore.
So they purchased this big, detached house in mature area of the south city, but one where street play was possible and calling on friends didn’t involve taking their lives in their hands.
It also explains why families come to the stage where they acknowledge that low-density suburban living works better for them than stately older homes.
And it was a brave decision to make — to leave behind the beauty of the Georgian for perceived flatness of a detached, ‘70s house.
But, it allowed them to tailor a house to their needs, which is where Louise Cotter took over.
Her brief was to transform what she describes as a conventionally laid-out house with ‘cellular’ rooms into a bright, fit-for-purpose, modern home.
“The house was large but conventionally arranged with a plan that reflected an outdated tableau of family life: dad reading the paper in the living room, mother in the kitchen and children in the study.
“Our clients, who had four children under 8 at the time, called for a reconfiguration to suit their needs.
“Although there was ample space, they needed this to be arranged in a fluid, spatial sequence that reflected a more casual domestic lifestyle as well as a space for parties and social events.”
Cotter she says that while the fabric of the building was in good condition, the garden was small and didn’t really connect to the house, so it was time to look at that too.
She had sought to create an additional, outdoor room which would connect to and be part of, the living space — and she’s succeeded.
The architect also looked to shift the centre of gravity, as she calls it, from the hallway /spine of the house to a new, living area at the rear that would connect to all of the rooms in a fluid, open plan way, and one that would also allow separate living, if required.
The pavilion extension, is essentially a timber-clad pod which could almost have been dropped down into the now- fully paved back garden.
That effect was intentional, as the extension is meant to be an adjunct to the house, but without disturbing its structure, where the curved shape cleverly allows light and access, which provides maximum space without disturbing existing doors and windows.
And, it envelopes a new wall of windows facing onto the garden which allows it to work as a sun room, formal dining room, play area and adjunct to the kitchen, all at the same time.
Meanwhile, corridors were removed internally to create the pivotal, kitchen/living space onto which all the rooms of the house now open.
This connects the inside with the outside, too, and the pavilion floods the area with light.
Two huge sliding doors open up the entire extension and at the corner there are beautifully made, curved windows.
Cotter describes the design as being similar to a piece of furniture or cabinetry and the exterior is finished in iroko, which works in complete contrast to the rough red brick exterior.
High, bright and finished with bleached ash flooring, the pavilion creates an extra 40 square metres of space, with 3 metre high ceilings to give the impression of even more room.
The architect was also responsible for the final finish of the interior, which despite the pod-like effect outside, blends seamlessly with the layout inside.
There is much use of built-in furniture in the new axis room, with a strong walnut statement in kitchen units, shelves and other joinery by Tim Hamilton, while the long, wide dining table is by Hans Leptien.
The scorching yellow/ orange chairs are Linge Roset and were chosen for their looks, but also for comfort because the owner wisely recognises that most entertaining takes place around the table.
This dining niche can seat 10 to 12, with more at a push along the banquette side which is covered in the same alcantara fabric — a suede-like, but washable material.
A second, casual table with bench seating for the children sits in the opposite corner with shelves executed in the walnut and reaching up to the post-box window overhead.
While the joinery, including the kitchen units, are understated walnut, the central island is a tour de force — a sold rectangle of Kashmiri white granite.
The same material is used to create a simple, clad finish on the house’s two fireplaces too.
The original detached house took a familiar form — neo-Georgian in style, with doorway in the middle, formal rooms to either side of a main hallway and informal rooms at the rear.
The re-draw of the interior here, however, didn’t mess too much with the integrity of the dwelling, or its floor plan.
There was little knocking down and building up of walls, no stealing of light from interior spaces — instead, the centre was opened up towards the garden by removing the original kitchen, adding the pavilion and creating wide openings to the various living rooms.
There isn’t one room in the house that lacks light: in the double-depth formal living room, a wall of glass, with sliding door is slotted in at the rear, created an autonomous, garden space, but connecting to the pavilion too in terms of material.
This room now flows directly onto the stair hallway and through to the living room via an enlarged arch which can be shut off with sliding doors for privacy.
The main hallway has an external and internal hall, the former being a sort of enclosed gallery with shelves and family photographs and the latter opening out to the kitchen as part of the new layout, but creating a psychological break between exterior and interior.
Light comes shooting down from the postbox window on the stair landing. as does ambient light from the main living space and drawing room, so that even on the enclosed northern side, there isn’t a dark space in this house.
It’s blessed with its south, south-west aspect and the curve of the pavilion allows a smooth, shadowless transition throughout the day.
While rooms were tweaked, new storage elements were added — the library, (which has an old pine table and old chairs for cosy winter dining) has wall-to -wall shelving.
Seamless floor-to-ceiling storage in what Cotter describes as the house’s ‘centre of gravity’ was also slotted in on two walls.
One corner has a children’s work/ play zone with clever sliding shelves tucked into the area where the walnut worktop meets the wall — handy for crayons, pencils and other messy stuff.
There’s more storage under the desk and full-height storage for sacks, hobby stuff and toys at the side. On the window sill above, a wooden Noah’s Ark takes pride of place.
The clients wanted a simple, unadorned approach, says Cotter, so existing cornicing and moulded architraves were removed and clean lines restored.
The family’s antique furniture blends well with the new joinery, (joinery continued into the bathrooms upstairs, along with the Kashmiri stone) and the neutral, but luxurious environment is a perfect backdrop for the couple’s collection of work by emerging Irish artists.
However, the real beauty of this house is that you’d never guess what’s inside from outside.
A masterclass in understatement.
1.The ‘Relaxing Machine’ from Le Corbusier in brown and white pony skin. Available in soft leather from €518 and pony at €853 www.artisanfurniture.ie
2. Alcantara chairs: Ligne Roset, Casey’s, Cork and Arnott’s, Dublin. caseys.ie. arnotts.ie
3. Library: Plain MDF with polyurethane varnish. Design by Louise Cotter and executed by joiner, Tim Hamilton.
4. Children’s study area: Sliding doors here and a corner unit with floor to ceiling storage solves the homework and toy problem.
5. Lights: Project Lighting Dublin. projectlighting.com
6. Children’s study chairs; Ssketch (now closed) but find similar: CC259 Saarinen Ring Executive Chair. Designer: Eero Saarinen. €251 furniture-online-ireland.com Gliss 2 ACR tub chair £85 each. hillcrossfurniture.co.uk
Architect: Carr Cotter & Naessens, 32 South Terrace, Cork. T: 021 4847123, E: info@ccnarchitects.
Structural Engineer: Fourem, 22 Connaught Place, Wellington Road, Cork. T: 021 4550322, E: post@fourem.ie.
Contractor: Keyturn Interiors Ltd,
14 Ashdale Park, South Douglas Road, Cork. T: 021 4890148, E: keyturn@eircom.net.
External Windows and Doors: Ted O’Driscoll, Market Street, Skibbereen, Cork. T: 028 21718.
Kitchen Fittings and Internal Joinery: Tim Hamilton, Cloonbane, Doneraile, Cork. T: 022 24338.
Landscaping: Lynch Garden Design, Dundellerick, West Leamlara, Cork. T: 086 8989335, lynchgardendesign.com.
Carr Cotter Naessens Architects were established in Cork city in 2001. The partners David Naessens, Seamus Carr and Louise Cotter gained valuable experience abroad prior to building a varied portfolio of work in Ireland.
CCN won an RIAI Award for best commercial building in 2007 for Henry Street, Limerick, where it has designed a significant number of buildings.
Other projects include the Central Library and Cultural Centre in Dun Laoghaire. a masterplan of the historic South Presentation Convent in Douglas Street, Cork: The Solas Building for Nursing and Healthcare Studies at the Institute of Technology Tralee and Ballyroe Heights Hotel.
E: info@ccnarchitects.net www.ccnarchitects.net
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