The client is a TV personality from Northern Ireland. He grew up on this land, his granddad worked it, and he wanted to build something here that felt like it belonged. The building sits on the family plot, built over the footprint of an old structure, and the whole project carried that weight of wanting to get it right for personal reasons.
The architecture was raw and deliberate: corrugated metal, polished concrete, a wood burner anchoring the room. Everything else was pared back, so the glazing couldn’t compete for attention. The frames needed to be slim enough that your eye passes straight through them to the hillside. The yellow profiles were a conscious choice, picking up the warmth of the interior palette against the rural greens and greys outside. With sightlines this narrow, the glass reads more like an opening in the wall than a window.
Rural Northern Ireland brings its own logistics. You can’t pop back the next day if something doesn’t line up. The survey had to be precise, the manufacturing had to match, and the install had to be right first time. Tolerances this tight, on a site this remote, meant every measurement carried weight. The building went on to be recognised as one of the top six rural designs worldwide.
The finished space is calm and warm. The concrete floor, the timber, the full-height glass all talk to each other. From the kitchen, your eye goes straight through the slim profiles into the trees and the hillside beyond. Even with the doors closed, the room feels open to the landscape. The outside is part of the room. It photographs beautifully, but the thing people comment on first when they visit is how quiet and settled it feels.
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