RIAI Public Choice Award – John McLaughlin Architects

Every day this week we are highlighting the best residential nominees for this year's Irish Architect Awards in the RIAI People's Choice Awards. Today we are back in Dublin with one of the best yet. A new build house full of light, colour and the open air - The Open House.

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Irish Home
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Open House, Glasthule

John McLaughlin Architects

We can only say “WOW” to John McLaughlin’s Open House. Built on a tiny in-fill site, he has created a sizeable family home within a walled garden. His brief:

The owners wished to have a bright warm house that would open into a garden expanding the sense of space and making the garden and patio feel like extensions to the house. They also wanted their children to be able to play inside or outside according to the weather.

"Open House" in every literally sense of the word...
“Open House” in every literally sense of the word… Source: architecturalawards.ie

The design approach was to provide open flexible space at ground level with bedrooms and bathrooms above. The ground floor has sliding timber-framed glass screens separating the inside and outside which open easily to connect the two.

Opening up the living spaces to the garden makes this already-open property connected to the outside spaces. Source: John McLaughlin Architects
You are presented not with a wall-of-windows but a wall-of-greenery from the ever-present garden. Source: John McLaughlin Architects

There are also sliding glazed screens internally so that the whole ground floor can open into one big room. Services and storage are accommodated in a thick wall along one side of the house. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs.

More glass in the top of the walls floods the house with even more light from the side. Source: John McLaughlin Architects
I can’t say we’ve ever liked the idea of a yellow kitchen but this is truly unique and enlivening. Source: John McLaughlin Architects
Throughout the house the hard timber and bright colours flows with the light. Source: John McLaughlin Architects
A further ceiling light floods the stairwell and the house as a whole from above. Source: John McLaughlin Architects

Vote for your favourite Architecture Award

Vote for your favourite for this year’s RIAI Public Choice Award at the Irish Architecture Awards 2014 – go to www.architectureawards.ie to cast your vote or check out all the other residential nominees here…

Irish Architecture Awards 2014

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