GKMP Architects  
Domestic
Exhibition
Civic
Studio Contact Housing
RIAI International Competition for Martin Valley Sculpture Park, Cork
August 2002

 

 

 

A singular sloped roof covers the building, a continuous plywood canopy that provides north light to all the spaces, and imbues the interior with a kind of field quality, a location for ambiguity and possibility. The strong lines of the roof echo the lines of the adjacent ploughed fields. The direction of the structure is then altered by means of the simple placement of connecting elements, both above and below, which turn the roof into large girders that function in the perpendicular direction and allow the spaces to open up to the landscape.

The land is then manipulated to form the spaces beneath this canopy. The large spaces are placed at the lower level, enjoying the connection to the river. The ancillary spaces are at the higher level, accessed by an external covered gallery. The apartment is located at the private north end, with a tall living space that opens out to the southwest.