Timber bird hides inform Irish cottage extension by Architectural Farm
Dublin studio Architectural Farm has renovated a home in Ireland called Seagull Cottage, adding a larch-clad extension informed by railway sheds and bird hides.
Positioned alongside a railway track between the sea and a stretch of protected wetland on Wicklow's coast, the home comprises two terraced 19th-century railway cottages that had previously been combined.
Architectural Farm was tasked with reconfiguring the home's layout, opening up its interiors to natural light and views of the landscape, and adding a 13-square-metre extension at its western end.
The timber extension was informed by the bird hides found in the nearby wetlands and is perched with just one wall touching the ground to minimise its impact on the landscape.
"While the site sits between protected wetlands to the west and the Irish sea to the east, bar views through the small cottage's windows on the first floor, the house practically ignored its amazing context," Architectural Farm co-founder Shane Cotter told Dezeen.
"The extension is expressed as a light, independent form – sloping away from the existing gable in deference to the cottage, minimally grounded, floating above the landscape to limit soil sealing and mitigate against decreasing biodiversity," he continued.
"Timber cladding felt appropriate, given the form of the new building being articulated as a structure elevated and lightly touching the ground, but also takes its inspiration from bird hides and railway architecture, as well as Irish agricultural buildings."
Architectural Farm reconfigured the route into the existing cottage, creating a sheltered porch and entrance lobby. This leads into a large skylit living, dining and kitchen area on the ground floor.
The extension sits half a floor above this living space, with a stair leading up into a raised seating area dubbed "The Perch", where windows on all sides provide views across both the sea and the wetlands.
"A new living space on a half-level between ground and first floor, which takes advantage of the available views south to the sea and west to the sunset, while also not overshadowing or dominating the proportions of the existing cottage," Cotter explained.
"The pitched roof gives a sense of volume and generosity to the interior, despite the small footprint, and foundations are minimal with only one wall touching the ground," he added.
White walls and ceilings unite the interior of the existing home and extension, complemented by stone floors and pale-blue details in the kitchen.
On the first floor, an ensuite bedroom sits tucked beneath the original cottage's gabled roof, with a balcony incorporating large glass panels overlooking the living area below.
Based in Dublin, Architectural Farm was founded in 2010 by Cotter alongside Kathryn Wilson. Previous projects by the studio include the extension of a home in Dublin with a large, timber-framed sliding window.
Other recently completed Irish houses on Dezeen include a coastal residence by Pasparakis Friel that embraces its "exposed island context" and the red-roofed Gate Lodge by A2 Architects.
The photography is by Fionn McCann.
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