€785,000 architect's home has 'secret' riverside deck in Cork city

NO 2 Inniscarrig Terrace on the Western Road is a house that flourished under its architect owner

Fri, 18 Aug, 2023 - 18:30

Catherine Shanahan

Western Road, Cork City
€785,000
Size	205sq m (2,210sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	2
BER	B2

Agonising about the best use of space, whether the light is right, how to make the garden work — these are the kinds of dilemmas that plague house-hunters searching for the perfect place to call home.

There’s so much at stake — it’s the biggest investment most of us will make — that any bit of professional advice we can draw on before making that call is generally greatly appreciated.

Imagine then how reassuring it would be to know that the previous owner put in all the hard yards to strike just the right note in terms of getting light, space and layout right?

Imagine if that previous owner was an architect, with a knack for knitting together all of the necessary elements to make a house look and feel it’s very best?

If you’re thinking that all of this imagining is too taxing, there’s an easy way out.

The house featured here, 2 Inniscarrig Terrace on Cork City’s Western Road, is an actual example of a house that flourished under its architect owner.

The upshot is a home that works on a practical design level, while being mindful of its period townhouse heritage.

The remodeling of No 2 into a more functional family home began in 2007 when a director at Meitheal Architects (offices in Dublin, Kerry, and South Mall, Cork City) bought what he describes as a “much worn house, lain out in nine student bedrooms.

It’s set close to the main entrance gate to University College Cork (UCC), near the River Lee Hotel, quality design student accommodation, cafes and bars, including Cafe Paradiso, now 30 years old, along withother major hospital employers at the Mercy and Bon Secours.

The site kicks out to the left at the rear and includes a riverside deck

Despite its chaotic state at the time of purchase, he could see that No 2 had “good bones”.

“From an architectural perspective, the room proportions are perfect,” he says.

“It’s a Henry H Hill [renowned 19th century architectural firm] house that dates to 1887 and shares architectural motifs [terracotta string course and door surround, red brick and clinker mortar, etc] of many of the other Hill institutional and commercial buildings around the city,” he adds.

Those buildings included Cork City’s original City Hall, which began life as a corn exchange.

Burnt to the ground by the Black and Tans in 1920, it was rebuilt to a different design in the 1930s.

No 2’s owner says it’s “a relief to be able to inherit good proportions” and to do “as little as possible, other than respectfully putting the spirit of the original building back together”.

Apart from good bones, he was drawn to the terrace’s city centre location.

UCC is right on the doorstep, Fitzgerald’s Park is nearby on the Mardyke for dog-walking, the River Lee Hotel gym next is door, Connaught Avenue Park is directly across the river to the rear.

He could walk to work, his son strolled across the road to school at Presentation Brothers College (“My son had PBC’s shortest commute”), the English Market is just a few minutes away, same for the Mercy University Hospital and the local scout club.

But perhaps even more of a draw than the location — or at least competing for the title of ‘best feature’ — was No 2’s riverside garden, secreted away to the rear, maximised for enjoyment through the creation of a large riverside deck, a favourite hang out during covid lockdowns for kids intent on magnet-fishing, who hauled their rusted finds on board for inspection.

The deck, accessed via a little walkway that veers off to the left at the bottom of the landscaped garden, has been a favourite BBQ spot for the current owners, albeit younger kids would need supervision.

The chap who landscaped the garden, John Butler, also assisted with the deck, which cantilevers out over the river.

It’s supported on the foundations of an historic conservatory/vine house. “We have vines trained against the wall, there is that much sun!” says the owner, who made sure the property he bought had a south-facing back garden.

The landscaping — raised limestone beds, limestone paving, railway sleeper — has a contemporary feel to it, which was deliberate, to contrast with the limited intervention made in their period home.

The main building intervention was “a very simple effort to make a room in the garden” the owner says.

Extension was added beyond a courtyard to maintain light levels in the original rear room

“A common theme with extending these period homes is to add a room to the rear. This is counter-productive, as it starves the existing rear room of natural light,” he says.

Instead they demolished the old scullery, made a courtyard to the rear, and added a very simple extension (a stylish, light-filled kitchen/diner) beyond that courtyard, “remote from the existing home, thereby preserving the integrity of the existing rear room and preserving its southerly aspect and ability to harvest natural light”, he says.

While retaining the character of the original house (windows were replaced with double-glazed hardwood sash), the owners also managed to achieve a B2 energy rating (better mortgage rates available), which is some going given the age of the house.

While being mid-terrace helps (there are four homes in the row) as there’s less external wall exposure, it also helped that they insulated where they could and re-roofed the property completely in 2014.

What they leave behind now is a 205 sq m, five-bed, tastefully extended and renovated city centre period home, where the only drawback is the parking, a trade-off for city-centre living, which they overcame by renting a space long-term in a nearby surface car park.

No 2 — already empty as children are grown and the owners have taken on a new project, this time tackling a period house in the country — is on the market with Savills who guide at €785,000.

First floor living room with virtual furnishings

Selling agent Michael O'Donovan said: "We are likely to see interest come from overseas buyers who will want to reside in the city to allow them to be close to work and avail of our vibrant city lifestyle. No. 2 Inniscarrig Terrace offers a superb opportunity to live in a renovated and refurbished period property that has been sensitively extended."

VERDICT: A period townhouse which has not been compromised by the process of making it fit for contemporary family life. Parking aside, Virits city living at its finest.