This project for a house occupies a prominent site on a coastal hill overlooking in west Co. Cork. Planning considerations required that it should not be visible from the scenic coast roads in the area below. At close quarters, the topography itself is cast in a series of hollows, each surrounded with thick, mature gorse, leading from one to the next like a sequence of outdoor “rooms”.
The building is conceived as a simple square in plan, which occupies one of these “rooms” and abuts its seaward edge. The hillside continues up past the roof level, forming a natural embankment protecting the flat roof, the front part of which is treated as a lawn with views out to sea. The rest of the roof area becomes an open cistern serving the dwelling, while the remaining quarter of the square is left as a hard terrace at ground floor level.
From the road below the site there is no visible evidence of the house, save for a small aperture and two slots cut through the hillside, affording views and access from the interior. The principal source of daylight to the accommodation is provided by the glazed walls to the terrace facing south-east towards the interior of the site.
