A Case Study of Sperrin House by Farren Architects

February 17th, 2025

17/02/2025

This article is featured in the Spring 2025 edition of Living Design, to purchase a copy click here.

The Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), designated in 1968, has tended to be the Cinderella of AONBs in Northern Ireland with the Mournes, Antrim Coast and Glens and, of course, the Giant’s Causeway being better known certainly beyond these shores. The Sperrins, however, is a place of great scenic grandeur, its heather-strewn moorland and blanket bog giving it an atmosphere and habitat all of its own. The landscape architect, Gwen Buchanan, writing in Frank Mitchell’s Book of the Irish Countryside (1987)notes that, “…you will find ancient rocks pushed and folded and squeezed into jostling horizons of hills and valleys, smoothed down to elegant profiles. These folded hills and valleys have held life for thousands of years – first plants and animals and later people, who have left mysterious signs of their presence all around, especially in the higher parts, the great open spaces where the lark sings, the heather is purple and the views are spectacular, mile after mile.”

It is in this context, not far outside Draperstown, that Farren Architects have designed a new house for clients returning to their family land to set up home with their young children in the countryside. The original house is long gone and indeed a replacement dwelling has been built which meant that infill planning permission had to be sought involving close collaboration with the planners. Outline planning permission was achieved initially so that the site could be developed followed by a reserved matters application to get approval for the details of the final scheme. It helped that the clients and their architect were keen to build a house that respected the history and context of the site, including retaining existing farm buildings. They achieved this through the use of materials keeping to a simple palette of timber and stone sitting on a concrete plinth, through a thoughtful relationship with the land, and by referencing local vernacular dwelling forms and agricultural buildings. The barn-like form of the building sits above a textured board-marked concrete base. The impact of the house on the landscape is reduced through the design of pitched roof forms breaking down the massing. The aim was to strike a balance between the traditional and contemporary – and this is exactly what has been achieved.

Sperrin House is the result of a well-honed brief and continuing dialogue between architect and client – always the best approach to achieve a successful outcome. The result is an open -plan, family-friendly, light-filled, easy-to-maintain house with stunning views over the surrounding landscape from every room. Indeed, one of the key features of the design is the inter-connectedness of indoors and outdoors, a biophilic approach to architecture which is driven by research that shows connecting building occupants with nature has a positive effect on their well-being. Sperrin House nestles into the landscape working with the natural contours and takes full advantage of natural light, sunlight and spectacular views. There is ample provision of covered external spaces that have been carefully planned to take account of the sun’s path and ensure sufficient shelter from the wind and rain – it is Ireland after all.

Indoors the spaces are both beautiful and practical. At the core of the house is the kitchen, dining and family living area which is filled with light and keeps to the same palette of materials used throughout the house, timber harmoniously meeting stone. Attention to detail is evident everywhere in this house and clever use of space is another key feature. Tucked off the living space is a dinky little play area with splendid views out into the garden and ample storage space. The sliding door can be left open to connect adults and children or closed over to create a snug private retreat. Flexibility, but focused flexibility if there is such a thing, is another recurrent theme in the design of the house and it is easy to envisage this space developing into a teenage den or a study at a later stage. Another carefully considered detail is access to the garage and lots of storage space through another cleverly disguised door.

On the other side of the house, yet again entered through a hidden door, is what might be described as the adult sitting room – a sophisticated space with warm timber walls, a slightly lower ceiling and spectacular views across to the hills. Another surprise awaits here as a secret door leads into a small but perfectly formed library-cum-study, a modern more luxurious take on a monastic cell, with a long narrow window giving enough of a view to entice but not distract. With shades of Louis Kahn and Alvar Aalto, this is a bolt-hole to escape from the hurly-burly of everyday life – to write that great novel, epic poem or just get a little ordinary work done! There are plenty of places to stop and stare in the house including a small be-anything-you-like space with a view and a Juliet balcony at the end of the corridor leading from the entrance.

The house has five bedrooms with some separation between the children’s bedrooms and the master and guest bedroom. The bedrooms with a shared bathroom for the older children are tucked away up a flight of stairs giving them a sense of independence. The guest and master bedrooms have en suites and both get the morning sun across yet more splendid vistas.

In today’s world, energy-efficiency and sustainability are central to any good design and Sperrin House is no exception to this. As well as encompassing passive design elements such as natural ventilation, and maximising use of daylight and solar gain, new technologies were employed including an air source heat pump, solar panels, mechanical ventilation heat recovery, and the use of energy-efficient appliances, lighting and HVAC systems. Repurposed stone from the former buildings on the site was intermingled with the basalt from a nearby quarry used for the new build, renewable Siberian larch was chosen for the timber cladding and windows were carefully placed for natural light optimisation. As architect Eoighin Farren noted, “This contemporary home for a growing family seamlessly integrates with its rural surroundings while pushing the boundaries of sustainable design.”

Sperrin House received a well-deserved Commendation in the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland’s prestigious 2024 Awards. It is not hard to see why it earned this accolade in a highly competitive field. It combines the contemporary with the traditional and, nestles into the distinctive landscape of the Sperrins, whilst still having a strong presence of its own. Most importantly, according to the clients, it is eminently liveable in providing them with, “a haven” to come back to from the outside world.

Karen Latimer