Posts Tagged ‘enniskillen architect’

Irish Intercounties Surfing Championship – 50 year anniversary

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

This weekend sees the 50 year celebration of the Irish Intercounties Surfing Championship at Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal and while I didn’t arrive on the scene until year four I have great memories of the event and of its founder, the late Brian Britton.

I had known Brian and his brothers since we were kids playing in the sand dunes in Rossnowlagh but we drifted apart during school and university years.  We got together again in 1972 when Brian led a small army of European surfers up from County Clare where he had organised Ireland’s first hosting of the European Surfing Championships.  We had a shared passion for surfing that took us around the world representing Irish surfing as competitors, managers and organisers.  Brian’s boundless energy, efficiency and his attention to detail took him on to become President of the Irish Surfing Association, President of the European Surfing Federation and Vice-President of the world’s governing body, the International Surfing Association.

I shall attend his memorial dinner next Saturday at the Intercounties and will no doubt, with many others, recall the great times we had on the world’s beaches from Lisbon to Lahinch, from Sydney to Strandhill and from Rio back to Rossnowlagh and the Irish Intercounties.  His passing is not only a great loss to his family and friends but to the world of surfing.

Roci

Image 1 – Lorraine Quinn, (nee Walls), with Quarterdeck playing in the Surfers Bar at the Intercounties early in the 1980’s.

Image 2 – Brian in full flow welcoming the world’s surfers to an Irish Party in Rio de Janerio, 1996.

 

 

Quaterdeck, Surfers Bar

1. Quarterdeck, Surfers Bar

Brian Britton, 1996

2. Brian Britton, 1996

Refurbishment and extension to family dwelling, Co. Leitrim

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

One of the most enjoyable aspects of our work is witnessing architecture make a family fall in love with their home again. This was our experience of a recent refurbishment and extension to a family dwelling in Co. Leitrim.

Everything about the pretty village of Leitrim, that attracted them twelve years ago, still appealed to our clients. They had simply outgrown their first home. Family visits from Donegal were now an expanding entity in themselves as cousins for their two girls arrived along.

Entertaining family was never going to be compromised by this pair, so they came to us seeking to expand and open up their kitchen-dining space and to find a way to incorporate a snug sitting area.

Although the site is narrow we were able to add on a small extension to the side. We flooded the new extension with light from above, as well as improving access to an existing patio garden directly from the kitchen, with the addition of new glazed doors.

Reconfiguring the existing internal layout created a transformation of the boxed, defined spaces too often the property developers’ layout of choice. The look of the new space is contemporary, a light filled soothing palette of whites and blue greys with pops of colour in the soft furnishings.

Now at the end of a busy working week our clients like nothing better than to avail of the stunning amenities Leitrim has to offer and return home to the space that more than ever is the heart of their home. We know they are sure to maximise their new kitchen over the holiday period. We wish them and all Allan Curran clients and friends a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Our clients wanted to open their house up to create more room for entertaining family and friends, and although the site is narrow we were able to add on a small extension to the side. We also removed a few walls inside the house, so that with contemporary finishes, fittings and furniture the whole look and feel of the house has been transformed. Our clients are delighted with the light- filled Scandi- feel of their new kitchen, dining and living areas and are sure to make good use of them over the holiday period.

Co. Leitrim Before

Co. Leitrim After 1

Co. Leitrim After 1

Co. Leitrim After 2

Co. Leitrim After 2

Co. Leitrim After 3

Co. Leitrim After 3

Co. Leitrim After 4

Co. Leitrim After 4

 

 

Co. Leitrim After 5

Co. Leitrim After 5

Co. Leitrim After 6

Co. Leitrim After 6

Co. Leitrim After 7

Co. Leitrim After 7

 

Refurbishment, renovation and extension to existing 1980’s dwelling located in Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

Much of modern domestic architecture and especially those aspects associated with house extensions is based around two features – daylight and access to the patio (and the garden beyond). Both these aspects are designed to make the best of the little sunshine we get in Ireland. Actually, when we approached the month of May you might be surprised to know that during May and June, our sunniest months we get on average between 5 hours of sunshine a day in the northwest and 7 hours a day in the south east. There are, of course, no free lunches. Windows cost approximately 4 times as much per square meter as an insulated block wall and while triple glazing is now almost standard you also lose 6 times more heat through a triple glazed window than you do through the same area of insulated block work.

Garden room

Garden room – exterior view

Garden Room

Garden Room – interior view

external view

Garden room external

 

view to rear

view to rear

When it comes to the cost of creating a patio the sky can be the limit, but with some consideration of the materials, the layout and the levels, you can achieve an attractive area on which to enjoy the outdoors at a reasonable cost. In this particular case we managed to reduce the original quotation by almost 50% just by considering those various aspects.

 

timber cladding

Timber cladding

Patio

Refurbishment of existing dwelling at Henry Street, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

We’re delighted that one of our projects features as the cover home in Ireland’s Homes Interiors and Living April issue – it’s a refurbishment of an existing waterfront house on Henry Street in Enniskillen.  The photos here give an idea of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of our work, but with fourteen full colour pages including stockists and suppliers, why not have a look at the magazine – on sale now!

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – before

 

 

Refubishment Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street, Enniskillen – after

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – living area before

 

 

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – new living area

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment at Henry Street – dining area before

 

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – dining area

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – kitchen before

 

 

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – Kitchen

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – bathroom before

 

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – cloaks

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – bedroom before

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – bedroom

 

 

Henry Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – lower area

 

 

 

Herny Street

Refurbishment of Henry Street – Living area to lower level

Refurbishment, renovation and extension to existing 1980s’ dwelling located in Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

The clients brief was for a “garden room” which would link the main body of the house, which was extensively refurbished, with the garden and the views of the mountains to the south of Enniskillen. The original expectation was that this would be used mostly in spring summer and autumn but it has turned out to be the “go to” room in the house.  The light afforded by the extensive glazing and its close proximity to the landscape patio area with its southern aspect make it easy to see why this is the case.

1980s' dwelling

Garden Room

1980s' dwelling

Refurbishment, extension and renovation to 1980s’ dwelling

 

1980s' refurbishment

Windsor Shaker Kitchen

 

As part of the refurbishment what was the dinning room has been converted to a gable end kitchen with an enlarged window to the south to take in the view and sunlight.   Our Client used a modern shaker style Windsor mussel door with wood grain effect. The worktops used are the natural River White Granite and the block chrome handle giving the kitchen a modern look.  http://www.dunlopkitchens.co.uk

1980s' dwelling

master bedroom

Two room were knocked into one to provide a larger master bedroom with ensuite and dressing area.

1980s' dwelling

Dressing area

 

 

Refurbishment, renovation and extension of 1980s dwelling located Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

As part of the refurbishment a good portion of the existing ground floor was reconfigured to put a kitchen/dining space at the southern gable with an increased window size to maximise the light and the view. The old kitchen was turned into a “winter snug” that was separated physically from the garden room with a screen but this was glazed to maintain a visual connection and once again to maximise the southern light, feeding as many spaces as possible.

1980s refurbishment and extension

Existing interiors of dwelling

 

 

1980s dwelling

refurbished main living room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first floor bedrooms and dressing areas were also reconfigured to give two top quality bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and additional storage space.

 

1980s dwelling

New extension to rear of dwelling

1980s refurbishment

View of new glazing to extension

We have a growing awareness, as we pull ourselves out of the recession and start to build again, that there is a distinct shortage of sub-contractors.  The contractor, Stephen Farry, has done his best to keep to the programme but is continually delayed by the sub-contractors, who,  in turn, are stretched to meet the growing demand while honouring long standing relationships.  In short, delays that we are experiencing on many jobs are nobody’s fault, just a symptom of a general shortage of skilled labour.

In this, and many other cases, we are left to rely on the clients understanding and tolerance.  So far that has been forthcoming and the work is proceeding, albeit at a slower pace than hoped for.

1980s dwelling

Refurbished bathroom

1980s refurbishment

Refurbished Dressing Room

 

Refurbishment, renovation and extension to existing 1980s dwelling located in Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

In the early designs it was envisaged that the refurbishment needed to include a half or two storey extension to accommodate the client’s brief which gave the extension a form similar to the existing but with a much more contemporary feel. However, when they revised their brief the reduced accommodation could be incorporated into a single storey. Adding a single storey extension to the existing format of the refurbishment was problematic without using a flat roof, which the Client wanted to avoid. We therefore devised a delta wing roof which, as well as avoiding a flat roof solution, gave us a number of positive contributions to the project.  It provided a clear distinction between old and new while a deep overhang created much needed shadowing for the wall of glass that was important to the Client in order to link the garden room to the landscaped patios and beyond.

To further accentuate the separation between traditional and contemporary the “garden room” extension is to be clad in natural cedar contrasting with the heavier wet dashed block work of the existing dwelling. The refurbishment and extension are designed to passive house levels of airtightness and insulation.

Refurbishment of 1980s dwelling

Refurbishment of 1980s dwelling – Delta wing roof taking shape.

1980s refurbishment

Refurbishment and extension of 1980s dwelling – block work and steel to Pavilion extension

Refurbishment, renovation and extension to existing 1980s dwelling located in Co. Fermanagh

Posted by Allan Curran Architects

As Enniskillen architects we were approached by a Client looking to start a refurbishment project.  He had purchased an existing 1980’s dwelling to which he wanted to add more reception areas, to make best use of the south facing aspect and to modernise the existing building, all in a very short time frame.

The project was to be carried out in two phases, the first was to make changes to the existing house to make it habitable and allow the clients to vacate their old house. The second phase involved an extension to the rear but a key question quickly arose, how to join old to new. It was agreed that it was important, visually, to differentiate between the two so the design for the second phase called for a departure from the traditional style of the existing building and one which also allowed the clients to put their own mark on their future home.

1980s refurbishment

Front of existing 1980s dwelling before refurbishment

  

1980s Refurbishment

Rear of existing 1980s dwelling before refurbishment

It was very important to resolve this issue quickly in order to get the design into the planning system and keep the project on schedule. At the same time the issue was so fundamental that rushing it wasn’t an option. The essence of the layout involved bringing the garden to the southwest into play as an outside extension of the new ‘garden room’. This was to be the area where friends and family would gather but it would also be an area from which you could view both old and new together so it needed careful consideration.

We discussed it with our client, changed it around a fair bit and eventually came up with a very different solution.

1980s refurbishment - early design of extension to rear

1980s refurbishment early design