LANTERN COTTAGE

Location: Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford

Type: Alterations & Additions to Existing Thatched Cottage

Role: Design, Planning & Procurement

Stage: Under Construction

The first intention of this proposal is to make this dwelling habitable as a contemporary dwelling, and entwining this intention with the appropriate conservation and restoration principles to ensure the character of the building is carried forward into the future as a dwelling. The challenge then is to chart a course for conservation where appropriate, restoration works where appropriate and new interventions where appropriate. There is a leaning towards restoration works, more so than conservation works, due to the nature of the works conducted on the building sometime in the late 1990’s. We are making an assumption that the current arrangement and condition of the building was completed then due to the materials used and the application for retention.

The proposal has been informed by the existing structure and by other Vernacular and Farm Type Buildings in the wider area.

The existing cottage is a long-type farmhouse with an approximate plan proportion of 2.5:1, which is typical of these type of buildings and represent the nature of construction in material and process, evident in the small spans of the filigree elements and the robust walls underneath it.

In essence the proposed extension is an extrapolation of this using the same proportion of 2.5:1 to compose the main living space in the new extension to the rear, with the link between the old and new bearing the same proportions of the thatched cottage in width and height. The composition and interplay of the old and new volumes is intended as an homage to the Irish vernacular farmyard arrangements.