Blackwater House
Nestled on the western bank of the Blackwater River, adjacent to Bonds Bridge, a captivating narrative of architectural heritage unfolds. Dating back to 1890, the iron bow string bridge emerged as an innovative answer to passenger crossings, christened in honour of the Bond family, stewards of the esteemed Argory and Derrygally estate.
Located along the river’s edge, within the embrace of Derrygally Demesne, the chosen site presented notable challenges due to its proximity to the major watercourse. The client’s main requirement was for a cost-conscious family home that could gracefully evolve with the changing needs of a dynamic, modern household. Central to the vision was a restrained architectural form, one that paid homage to the local vernacular whilst respectfully melding within the natural surroundings.
The narrow plan allowed communal family spaces and activities to be located deeper into the site to ensure a greater degree of privacy and enclosure, whilst simultaneously promoting a better connection to the wider landscape area and greater site context. The building’s apertures were developed to open up as they extend into the site to ensure privacy and to frame views of the Blackwater River and adjacent orchard.
The provision of an elevated plinth afforded the clients the opportunity to create a variety of external private spaces that connected to the house and garden, providing elevated viewing across the wider site. The elevated podium ensured to retain the existing site character with no requirement to adjust the external site topography.
The dwelling sits quietly in the beautifully natural terrain as a testament to the traditional rural building design and an elegant interpretation for today’s modern family. The proportion of the buildings were carefully considered to ensure a modest appearance from the public edge of the site in terms of scale and mass. The pitched roof gable of the dwelling and the secondary barrel roofed out-building welcomes visitors whilst nodding to the agricultural building traditions.
The architectural forms, coupled with a restrained material palette of white painted masonry walls, perched on a dark masonry plinth, traditional roofing slate, painted windows, vertical timber panelling, lead and corrugated metal roofing are all brought together through refined architectural detailing that provide the appropriate response to the client brief and context.
