1960 – ESB Competition for All-Electric House, Ireland

The competition sponsored by the Electricity Supply Board was for an all-electric house costing not more than £3,000, with a limit of 1,400 sq. ft. total floor area. The assessors were the Dublin architects Michael Scott, Niall Montgomery, and Patrick J. Corr.

From The Builder: “The winning solution is a glass box surrounding a core of bathrooms, kitchen, cloaks, etc., set in a garden courtyard. This system allows the living area spatial continuity. The structure consists of light lattice girders spanning across the full width of the house and supported on RSJ columns. Roofing is Longspan aluminium decking with an overlay of 1 in. softboard, and mineral felt. Flooring in the main areas is in. wood block on canvas backing. Heating in the living room is by Thermodare pvc sheathed cable embedded in the floor screed. Current is supplied at off-peak tariff rate of 0.7d. per unit. The bathroom and kitchen have 500 watt infra-red heaters mounted at high level. Bedrooms have wall-mounted oil-filled radiators. Temperatures are maintained at 65°F, and 55°F in bedrooms, assuming an outside temperature of 30°F. A total output of 47,100 BTU /hrs are required to maintain these conditions. Kitchen equipment consists of an oven unit, twin boiling plate, eyelevel grill, motor for food mixer, ‘Colston’ dishwasher, washing machine, spin dryer, rotary ironer, ‘Tweeny’ waste disposal, refrigerator, electric kettle, coffee percolator, electric toaster, hood and extract propeller fan.”