Co Kilkenny/€2m: Kate McMorrow visits a couple who have built a contemporary home from the ruins of a farmhouse at the end of a boreen in rural Co Kilkenny.
When baroque violinist Maya Homburger and composer Barry Guy moved to Griffinstown, near Skeoughvosteen in Co Kilkenny, they were determined to build a home that expressed their passion for the environment.
The result is a magnificent collage of old stone walls, glass and galvanised steel, with a central core of red oak which soars cathedral-style to a great height. The ruined farmhouse which forms the base of their house remains, although the overall impression is of an ultra-modern cedar-clad structure, one which has received much architectural acclaim throughout Europe. The acoustics, of course, are excellent.
Deeply reluctant to leave their much-loved house, Maya and Barry are moving to Switzerland to be more central for travelling to concerts and recitals. Joint agents Jackson-Stops and MSW-Immobilien are quoting €2 million for the 380 sq m (4,000 sq ft) house on 30 acres, which cost over €1 million to build. Huge oak beams are fastened securely with timber mortice and tenon joints and oak pegs - there's not a single screw in the entire structure. A geo-thermal heating system backs up the wood-burning tile stove, which heats the entire house and is so efficient it only needs emptying every six months.
Green materials are complemented by the use of top quality designer fittings, such as Philippe Starck wash basins and an efficient steel-topped kitchen which a serious cook would love. The predominant colour is white, with splashes of lime, hot pink and yellow adding warmth to smaller rooms with less natural light. Artificial lighting is high-tech, designed to highlight the house's magnificent architectural features. Local builder Donal O'Brien carried out the main construction work on the project.
Peace and quiet to compose and practice was a priority for the couple, so the location at the end of a kilometre-long boreen was perfect. Giant A-shaped windows look out on 360-degree views of Mounts Brandon and Leinster and the Blackstairs, without the necessity for curtains or blinds.
Another concern was separate studio space, so two studios were designed, each with doors to different parts of the garden. Barry's composition room has a curved stone wall with a spectacular lighting system in the shape of a question mark. A wall of glass opens out to a deck and a pond with waterfall.
Often used for concerts, the main living area is dominated by a high curved oak ceiling and double-height windows which flood this space with natural light. Flooring here is larch, with rippled Liscannor slate in the kitchen.
Hung with contemporary works by artists George and Stephen Vaughan, unpainted plaster walls have taken on a dusky pink hue. Boosting the underfloor heating is a German-made blue tile stove with a steel shaft which penetrates to an upper platform. Here is the couple's sleeping area, accessed by way of a suspended galvanised staircase, with a genuine steel harp serving as side support. This was designed by Cork team Akiboye Connolly. To avoid condensation, the en suite shower room has a separate wet room area, sauna-like in atmosphere from heating under floor and behind the tiled walls.
A guest bedroom on the ground floor has a smart en suite bathroom with oak beams and designer sanitary ware. Outside, a stone building houses the heating system and logs. A geodesic dome greenhouse is planted with organic vegetables and herbs. Stone walls dividing the fields have been carefully rebuilt, with stiles for easy access, paddocks, a cluster of deciduous trees and a small stream.
The house can be viewed at www.light-temple.com
