Architect Patti O’Neill’s house extension in Limerick city expresses a design philosophy centred on zero waste. She has taken a range of natural, low embodied energy materials and created a living space that blends smoothly into the suburban landscape. Careful modelling and minute attention to form, orientation and layout make optimum use of solar gain,… Read more »
I remember our journeys by boat to Dromineer situated on the shores of Lough Derg in North Tipperary. Note the Castle visible in the background! Three decades on it is almost entirely taken over by ivy. This is partially because a fence was put around the structure preventing the ivy from being kept down by… Read more »
Presently our waste goes into landfill sites. Thank you to Michael of North Tipperary County Council Landfill who gave me a guided tour. I learnt that the waste gets filled and wrapped in thick membrane material which is welded together. When full it gets closed up and a layer of earth is spread over it…. Read more »
The ability to design requires abstraction. It requires that you remove yourself from associations. For example, below is a series of watercolours painted in Georgia O’Keefee Country in New Mexico featured in my book Placing Architecture. They describe a progression, from left to right, of my letting go of what I understood the canyon edge… Read more »
My intention in driving up into the Silvermines region in North Tipperary was to gather material on cottage decorations. I was intrigued by previous trips because up until then I had seen cottages as bare essentials – walls, windows, door and roof. But cut off in the heart of the Silvermines the people have decorated… Read more »
Congratulations to the organizers, supporters and many swimmers today who jumped into the Shannon at Youghal Quay in aid of TLC4CF (Tipperary Limerick Clare for Cystic Fibrosis). Frozen toes after the swim was the only suffering we had to bear.
I want to tell you about a beautifully restored church I visited in Brosna, Co. Kerry. The visit was uplifting. The unusual thing was that all the materials were spot on!
As the winter solstice occurs, I welcome you to the first lines of my blog. I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and the very best for the coming year.