I well remember discussing the brief for our Ballyconneely weekend home with John Dorman back in 1998. We spent a full day talking together, teasing out our hopes and aspirations for this little corner of Connemara. He carefully probed and nudged his new clients until he felt he understood our requirements and then set about capturing these on paper. We felt great excitement when he presented his thoughts to us a few weeks later. He had understood us perfectly and then added his interpretation.
Innovation, flair, the artist's eye were all immediately obvious. We decided to go with the plan lock, stock and barrel. A local builder, Patsy D'Arcy, was selected and, under John's careful supervision, dealt admirably with the project. All through the building stage, John's attention to detail was almost obsessive, but it drove the team to reach a very high standard at completion. Several features - the under-floor heating, the high arched ceiling, the sliding panels , all were innovations to our building team that were completed successfully under John's watchful eye.
We first slept in our new home on 22nd December 1999 and knew immediately that everything was just right. How can the same building feel open and airy with easy transition from inside to outside during long summer evenings and then change into a cosy and snug cocoon during winter storms? - by clever architecture. We manage to have ample space to meet all our needs and yet not have a large house. The main open plan space gives a seating area to read, listen to our music collection or watch television, as well as a beautiful dining area complete with a window literally picture-framing Ballyconneely Bay, and a kitchen to the rear - all of this in a single but cleverly space. There are two separate sleeping areas at opposite ends of the building, one for ourselves and the other for guests so that everyone has total privacy. And even with that, again by clever design, there are two discrete suites at the visitor end. Lots of doors you might think? Well, yes and no. Sliding doors are the clever secret. Push them away when you want your open spaces and pull them across when you want to close down.
Now a weekend house or holiday home should be easy to keep. With its clean lines, and travertine floors it really is simple to keep clean - a floor brush and mop, and a quick hoover once a week is all that is needed. As for creature comforts, arriving on the coldest Friday night, the building, while never cold, will heat to full comfort in 1-2 hours and then retains heat very impressively. Even a full-blooded Atlantic storm can be enjoyed from the safety and cosiness of this space.
We have the benefit of a south-facing aspect and so all our living and sleeping space benefits from the light and heat that this provides. We are also able to enjoy some northern light creeping in high over over living space. All the services have been pushed to the back, or the north side of the house as is our larder. There you will find ample storage, and all our utility appliances.
So sitting here on a glorious February Sunday in 2013, we still find this building completely fit for purpose. The book shelves are filling, the music collection gets bigger, Sky Sport has crept in but this house still answers our needs as we imagined them in 1998.
We both have to say John was such a great architect to work with - he listened so carefully which was a huge part of the success of the project. He interpreted our needs with great flair and creativity while creating a building that was both timeless and sensitive to its environment. He then oversaw the project with huge attention to detail and managed to gain the respect of the many crafts people who were involved in its execution - a rare accomplishment.
Little wonder that the John Dorman project in Ballyconneely was a winner in the RIAI Irish Architecture Awards 2001 and has been featured in the print media as well as on TV. If we were ever to have need of an architect again for any project big or small, I would certainly look no further than John and could not recommend him highly enough.
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