houses
- This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 8 months ago by
.
- Posts
Hi, My name is Sam and I live in the USA. My famililes heritage is Irish and German. I have a great interest in all things that are really Irish and German. It is really hard to decern what is true and what is not. My husband and I are going to be building a farm house for our family in the next couple of years and we are looking at plans now. We would like to build an Irish farm house however we do not know where to begin looking for the real thing. I was wondering if anyone could help me out. Thanks, Sam
Here you go: http://www.irishhousedesigns.com/twostorey.htm
BTW: Sarcasm Filter. Do not build one of these houses. Please note the heavy tones of sarcasm applied when I posted the above link.
I knew someone was going to post that link up:)
On a more serious note, what about trying to get an architect involved and build something that is distinctly modern, yet might have subtle references to Irish traditional building. I would personally think that building something that fits in more with the landscape of Kansas might be more suitable than attempting to construct an ‘authentic’ Irish style farmhouse.
What is the vernacular architecture of Kansas? From what origin has it got most of its influence? For example is there already Irish influence in the design of present farm houses? I would start by looking in detail at the history of your area and then start to think about your design.
Best of luck
Phil
Back to a serious note, the features which give Irish farmhouses their charm are often not applicacable for manufacturing and practical reasons. For instance the small windows which were nescessary because of the high cost of glass and the need for heavy brick work for structure aren’t practical for modern living as they don’t offer enough light & the thick walls which give heavy window beds are no longer practical using modern building methods.
I agree with phil on this one…
What about that cork county council book of guidelines/suggestions for one off houses. Cork Rural Design Guide or whatever its called.
As mentioned by Mob 79 – a very good book – well worth a look.
http://www.corkcoco.com/cccmm/services/planning/rural-design/rural-design.htm
CORK RURAL DESIGN GUIDE by CORK COUNTY COUNCIL
ISBN:0952586940Easons sell it online.. http://www.buy4now.ie/Eason/productdetail.aspx?pid=1544372&loc=P&catid=1009.8
– Probably not relevant to you though Sam. Where is it you are building? Here or in Kansas?
@Paul Clerkin wrote:
I’m thinking that any vernacular Irish house is going to look weird in the flatness of Kansas…
I agree with you Paul. Surely the idea of producing a document on designing for the landscape of Cork is so that Cork gets buildings suitable to its landscape. I could understand it possibly being suited to other counties in Ireland – but that would possibly even ignore the regional variations of our landscapes. As I said earlier, I think the best bet is to look into the history of the vernacular architecture of Kansas.
@phil wrote:
I agree with you Paul. Surely the idea of producing a document on designing for the landscape of Cork is so that Cork gets buildings suitable to its landscape. I could understand it possibly being suited to other counties in Ireland – but that would possibly even ignore the regional variations of our landscapes. As I said earlier, I think the best bet is to look into the history of the vernacular architecture of Kansas.
Exactly. If the vernacular architecture in Kansas is as interesting as the rural architecture of Manitoba, then it is worth exploring.
Thank you all so very much for your input. We are going to be building here in Kansas. I wish that it was on the coast of Ireland but for now at least it is not to be. We raise and breed dogs so we are really in need of our own home with enough land to let the dogs run.
Contrary to popular belief not all of Kansas is flat. We are just off center towards the east and it is very hilly with lots of trees and vegetation. We also have lots of cows, pigs, lamas, sheep, and horses. There is even a farm that has camels!
My father has been to Ireland and he had two books that I did not know about. They are Plan-A-Home by Roadstone Architectural Products and Bungalow Bliss by Jack Fitzsimons. So I have been looking at them. They are mostly modern. I will check out the book that was sugested with much anticipation.
I am very interested in the simple design and the stone work. We have a lot of limestone that could actually be picked up on the side of the highways. I was wondering what kind of stone is used in Ireland. Im sure that the cost of shipping the stone from Ireland would be crazy but maybe we have some of the same kind or something similar.
Again, thank you for your help. Sam“Bungalow Bliss” is very much a bad word here….. responsible for destroying miles of the Irish countryside…
Why not hire an architect and have something special designed for your site and location?
Good evening to you. We are going to hire someone. We just wanted to have a really good idea of what we wanted before we went that far. I agree with you about Bungalow Bliss. The design in it look like they could have come from anywhere. They seem to be generic.
And we do not want to be decieved, we want as much information as we can get beforehand. I have a real problem with things that are not as true to form as they can be, they just want to be. For instance in America many people buy things with hearts on it to decorate their houses and they call it country. I grew up in a real farm house, we even had an outhouse that we had to use. I can assure you that my Grandma never owned anything that had hearts on it. So if you see what I mean I do not want to get caught in the cult of ” Oh look at me, I am of Irish decent and I have a shamrock hanging around my neck” sort of thing.
Contemporary on the prairie
Architect re-envisions vernacular in steel, concrete and glassBy Jodie Krafft/Special to the Journal-World
Sunday, January 16, 2005Upon first glance, architect Dan Rockhill’s structures seem unlike any other, with their unique roofs and towers, and combinations of steel, glass and concrete. But take a closer look. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the influence of grain silos, farmhouses and industrial buildings in Rockhill’s designs. “We’re just trying to make something work with the language of Kansas,” said Rockhill, a Lawrence architect and Kansas University professor who moved to Lawrence from New York in 1980.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
