Astrid Madsen
McGonigle McGrath Architects won two Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) Awards 2024 for rural one-off housing projects, the third year in a row that the practice scooped the accolade, thereby securing itself a hattrick.
In this article we cover:
- Winner details
- House profiles
- Shortlist
House on Redbrae Farm, by McGonigle McGrath architects, with Alice Nickell named Project Architect of the Year for her work on this rural Co Down project, won the RSUA’s coveted Northern Ireland House of the Year Award 2024.
This means the project, which was completed in 2022, is now in the running for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards 2024. The winners of the RIBA Awards are to be announced in July 2024.
Last year, McGonigle McGrath won both the RSUA and RIBA awards.
McGonigle McGrath also scooped a second design award for Longhurst, a family home in south Belfast completed in 2022.
“Hats off to McGonigle McGrath who have completed a hattrick, winning Northern Ireland’s House of Year for the third year running,” said RSUA Director Ciarán Fox. “Every year we change our judging panel of experts from across Britain and Ireland but time after time each new panel reaches the same conclusion – that McGonigle McGrath’s work is outstanding.”
Patrick Bradley Architects
Architect Patrick Bradley secured the Sustainability Award and Small Project Award with his shipping container home, Barney’s Ruins, which he built floating above the ruins of his family’s 200-year-old farmstead near Maghera. The original cottage was last lived in by Patrick’s great-great uncle Bernard, locally known as Barney.
Patrick and his father James took on the project to bring this clachan back to life, keeping Barney’s legacy alive by seamlessly juxtaposing old and new.
The new build portion is a minimal piece of contemporary architecture that floats elegantly over the old cottage ruins below. At night it looks like a dazzling nocturnal installation.
Studio idir
Shortlisted for the RSUA Awards was Studio idir‘s House in the Woods (Lough Road House, Lisburn),
which is a timber frame new build fully clad in cedar shingles that are gracefully weathering to grey. The windows are positions to frame the views.
One section is the living area, the other the sleeping quarters. The two vernacular forms sit at an angle to one another, connected by a glazed entrance link.
Judging criteria
All entries for the RSUA Awards were required to have been in use for at least one year so that the judging panel could better evaluate the sustainability and real-life performance of the projects. The six winning projects are now in the running for a RIBA national award, celebrating the best of architecture across the whole of the UK.
The awards were sponsored by JP Corry and Metal Technologies, the Department of Infrastructure, the Department for Communities, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
English