Black House, West Coast of Ireland

K4 Architecture’s first commission outside of the UK is a beautiful elevated plot on the West Coast of Ireland with far reaching views of the River Shannon.

The design is deeply routed in rural Irish Architecture, the plan form is kept wide yet shallow in a nod to rural vernacular cottages which took advantage of their east-west axis, steeply sloping roof’s with parapet gable ends are a familiar feature in the area and the dry-stone walling to the gable and dining room wall tie the building to the landscape.

In a break from tradition however, the dwellings material palette have been designed and chosen to present a dark, almost silhouette like aesthetic. From the black corrugated metal roof, to the charred black timber cladding, the building appears as a shadow of the vernacular Irish Rural Dwelling.