White Lodge, Dun Laoghaire

Project Description

This project involved the restoration and extension of a listed Georgian house. The brief was to design a contemporary extension which complemented and enhanced the existing house. 

The extension comprises three elements, varying in height and form, that wrap around the existing house. A single-story zinc and timber-clad volume containing the open-plan kitchen and living area is separated from the existing house by a glass link that encloses a new west-facing rear courtyard. This part of the extension is separate from but parallel to the existing house, and its pitched roof was designed to reflect the existing roof, clad in zinc to highlight its contemporary character.

The glass link between the new pitched roof extension and the original house was designed as a low-key, minimal connection. It is a very ‘light touch’ intervention to the existing house and involved very little disruption to the fabric of the protected structure.

The two-storey timber-clad extension to the gable extends the master bedroom on the first floor and the study on the ground floor, and helps contain the new west-facing courtyard. This extension was designed to complement both the existing house and the new rear extension.

The extensions, while contemporary, complement the existing Georgian house without compromising the needs of modern family life.