Split-level Farmhouse

Type: Historic Farmhouse Extension & Renovation

Client: Private

Location: Dawestown, Dundalk, Co. Louth

Stage: Planning Granted

Rustic yard with old stone and metal structures, overgrown grass, and cloudy sky.
A black and white topographic map showing parcels of land, roads, a spring, a well, and various contour lines, with a red circle highlighting a specific property.
A rural scene featuring a house with a partially rusted metal roof, surrounded by overgrown grass and a sidewalk. The house has a chimney and a gray tiled roof, with clouds in the sky.

This steep rural farm sitting high over Dundalk Bay had been in the client’s family for generations. The site is approached from Dawestown and the farmland slopes down towards Dundalk Bay.

A collection of farm buildings from multiple eras are dotted across the site, some straddling and holding the contours. Harnessing views to the Bay below drove the concept for this site strategy.

Architectural site plan showing house, trees, and marked solar or lighting setup with directional lines and circles indicating angles of sunlight or light fixtures.
Old abandoned house with a weathered exterior, surrounded by greenery, under a cloudy sky.
Front view of a two-story house with a red front door, beige textured exterior walls, six windows with white shutters, a slate roof, and two brick chimneys, under a cloudy sky.
Architectural floor plan of a house with an outdoor patio, kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and surrounding landscape.

The existing two storey farmhouse was retained with very minimal interventions. The lean-to extension was in a poor state of repair and was removed. This opened up the house to views over Dundalk Bay through shifting the axis of the new kitchen, dining and bathroom extension.

Through utilising the existing contours of the site, the new extension sits lower than the farmhouse, thus appearing subservient.

The material palette of dashed render walls, slate roof and white brick piers compliments the surrounding context while distinguishing the existing buildings from the more contemporary extensions.

Architectural drawing of a building with large glass windows, brickwork, and a pitched roof, with trees and bushes in the background, and two people standing outside.
Architectural drawing of a house with a cutaway view showing interior activities, two trees on the left, and a grassy landscape at the base.
A two-story house with a white exterior, black roof, and red front door, situated in a rural setting with grass and trees in the background, under a cloudy sky.
A small, old stone and wood house with a rusted metal roof in a rural area, showing signs of disrepair.

The client’s brief was to increase the farmhouse’s energy performance and to extend it to be more comfortable and functional for a family of 4 with regular visitors.

The extension follows fabric‑first sustainable principles: the use of natural materials and insulations, the careful repair and thermal upgrades appropriate for a historic structure, and arranging the plan to optimise passive solar gains from the site’s orientation.

Architectural diagram showing the sun's angles during different seasons with two people inside a house, one sitting and one standing, along with trees outside.

The roof and piers of the extension work in tandem with the sites contours and orientation. The large overhanging roof forms a sheltered external space off the new kitchen which captures low light in the Winter months and shelters the occupants from the high sun in the Summer.

The white brick piers mimic the texture of the old farm buildings on the site. They hold back the landscape while supporting the roof and the gutters. Rain water is diverted to a new ‘rain garden’ caught between the angle of the new extension and the existing farmhouse.

The sensitive design approach will allow this landholding to be used by generations to come.

Site plan of a property showing trees, buildings, and landscape features in black and white.