House of the week

THERE’S a lot of homogeneity about Irish house design, with very little variation from the standard — and that’s why something as mildly tweaked as the house designs at Charlemont Heights stand out.

Built over 20 years ago, in the late 1980s, these big, detached Rochestown Cork suburban homes on sloping sites and with a slight split-level interior, looked refreshingly different for their day. They still have that individuality, and the design has stood the test of time.

In fact, if anything, they’ve improved with maturing landscaping, giving a bit of space and screening from one another: case in point is No 10, a good example of Charlemont’s strengths.