With seamed steel detailing on the façade and roof, triple glazing throughout, and an air-to-air heat pump that also offers cooling, this engineer-owned modular home is future-proof and demonstrates a great rural revival.
There are examples of great design all across the Irish countryside.
Sites tend to be more affordable and offer the dream of constructing your home from scratch, not paying a premium to tailor an existing home to your needs and tastes.
It is where the bungalow flourished following Jack Fitzsimons' self-published book in 1971. It profoundly influenced Irish domestic architecture.
Address: Crannach, Ballykeeffe, Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny, R95 TX2Y
Asking price: €425,000
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald McCreery
And now a Co Monaghan company is influencing the homes of the next generation.
BuildWright was set up in 2005, but following the financial crisis, the company pivoted to develop advanced concrete technology, launching its patent-protected system in 2018.
What it offers is a choice of turnkey, contemporary, modular home styles that you select from pre-existing designs.
Finished to a high specification, they marry sleek modern looks with air-tightness and energy efficiency.
When engineer Sean Dooley ordered his home from them in 2021, it arrived in two roofed modular pods that were craned into position onto a prelaid foundation.
A traditional blockwork link joined the two together.
Dooley first viewed the house style at the home of Stephen McGuigan of McGuigan Architects.
He had designed the style and was living in one.
He had already explored timber-construction modular homes and the more traditional build approach that he would manage.
At the time, he was running his own business and didn’t want to go down the direct labour route. He didn’t have the time.
Being from the general area, getting planning permission was relatively easy, as there was a housing need.
Its striking standing seam aluminium facade sets the tone for the interior.
Boasting an A3 BER rating and an air-to-air heating system, this stylish two-bedroom property extends to about 98 square metres.
The air-to-air heat pump system takes heat from the air inside the house. It works on a property of this size.
It makes it incredibly efficient. It also filters the air to create really good indoor air quality, and has a mechanical ventilation system that cools the house during hot weather periods like this one.
It opens into a roomy hall.
Well-appointed throughout with Crittal-style internal doors, there is a bright open-plan kitchen cum dining cum living area to the left that runs the depth of the property.
This is a tri-aspect space.
The two generous double bedrooms are to the right, with the main bathroom between them. The house also includes a roomy utility room.
Agents Sherry FitzGerald McCreery is seeking €415,000 for the property, which sits on circa 0.8 of an acre.
Bounded by a laurel hedge, beyond which is almost nothing but agricultural fields, save for a few neighbours.
The townland is about 3.5 kilometres from Kilmanagh village and about 11 kilometres from Kilkenny city.
