ngrxUiJVl2
A terraced home on Finglas Road, Dublin 11, the owners of this home loved its character, but its layout was not well-suited to the needs of their young children, Ciara Murray of Newmark Architects explains.
The kitchen and dining area were housed in a rear extension, along with a bathroom and an office. “The kitchen and dining space were disconnected from the rest of the house and too small for a family of five,” Ciara says.
“The main bathroom was located off the master bedroom, losing the view to the corner tower in Glasnevin Cemetery. One of the clients’ main frustrations was the lack of connection between the house and the large rear garden. Despite its generous size, the garden felt entirely separate from the home and wasn’t being used to its potential. With the rear of the house facing north,bringing natural light into any new extension was also a significant concern. In short, the original layout didn’t provide the kind of space, light, or flow that a young and growing family needed.”
Central to the design, this courtyard also provides outdoor space visible from the kitchen and living areas, and provides a play area for young children within view of their parents. “As the children grow, the planting will become denser, transforming the space into a green backdrop for the interior living spaces,” Ciara explains. The connecting interiors spaces act as a place for the children to play, close to the main family space, and also house a ground floor bathroom.
The Newmark team also considered the everyday habits of the family. As the front entrance has several steps up to it, it was decided to make the rear entrance the new primary entry point. “A well-proportioned utility and boot room was introduced at the rear,” Ciara says, “designed to accommodate buggies, bikes, coats, and other daily essentials – allowing the family to transition easily into the home.”
It was important to balance the character of this old home with the contemporary extension. “The clients were drawn to the house for its character and charm as an older building,” Ciara says. “We were careful to retain and respect the original structure, keeping interventions to a minimum. The new extension is distinctly contemporary but remains hidden from view until one moves through the house.”
In the original part of the house, the entrance hall sits at the centre, with reception rooms on either side. “Time and consideration was taken in designing the relationship between the old and new living spaces. An original window opening was repurposed with a fixed pane of glass, creating a visual connection between the two levels and the two rooms. Internal shutters were installed in the original reception room to close off the view between rooms when required.”
