An unusual Kilkenny dwelling has been nominated for a prestigious international architectural award.
Architect Peter Cody of Boyd Cody Architects in Dublin has built his dream home - a small rural dwelling of 100m2 in the corner of a field on the edge of the village of Graiguenamanagh.
The building has been shortlisted for the World Architectural Awards for which only nine Irish projects out of 272 have been selected.
The house, which comprises three single storey blocks, sits on a south-facing hill overlooking Mount Brandon.
Set within a square footprint of 15x15m, five single storey volumes, increasing internally in width from 1m to 5m and in height from 2.1m to 2.7m in step with the landscape, descend down the hillside. The volumes are drawn apart to create a series of open-ended external courtyards between the rooms of the house, potentially doubling the perceived area of accommodation.
Speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser Mr Cody, who is originally from Graiguenamanagh and whose father was also an architect, said that he built the unusual house for himself to live in.
“I wanted to build a house that was sympathetic to the environment but with a contemporary feel through the use of contemporary materials. The house is pretty unusual, I suppose, as it has a flowering plant that makes up the grass roof which covers the top of the building. I was conscience of the carbon footprint throughout the design and I installed a heat pump which is environmentally friendly and this runs the underfloor heating which I believe is economical.”
Mr Cody was delighted with the news that his specially designed home had been shortlisted for the World Architectural Awards.
“I was surprised and very pleased of course. It is a small project in comparison to many of the other shortlisted projects and it is nice to get recognition. It has already received an award from the AAI and it got a special mention from the RAI for buildings and landscape.”
Set on three quarters of an acre, Bohermore House comprises an airy living space, a long galley kitchen, a dining room and bedroom which are each interconnected by open courtyards. There are no doors as such within the building and the entire project is built from concrete and glass.
“The layout is certainly different and it comprises a series of rooms of different sizes and a series of courtyards. It is not conventional and I’m not sure you could live as a family in it as it is - it might need some adjusting if a family were to live there,” said Mr Cody.
He travels to Barcelona in November to give a presentation on his house to the judges of the competition before the final decision is made. There are 45 awards to be presented and Mr Cody will be hoping that Kilkenny will be put on the map of international architectural excellence with Bohermore House in Graiguenamanagh.
