Lynch Dwelling

When, as an architect, you are asked to deliver a complex planning approval, in your home town, on a tight budget for a family friend, the statement 'necessity is the mother of invention' comes to mind and was certainly the comment that guided our inventiveness on this site and in the delivery of this project. In design terms the client was very clear in her ambitions for a contemporary, minimal home which had been her dream for several years. We wanted to make those dreams a reality. As a family home set in the rural border countryside of Castlederg on an extremely exposed and open site we had a myriad of issues to contend with. Having established the brief, the ambitions of the client and the budget constriants, we set out our rule book, those things we would and wouldn't do. We would create a simplicity of layout, we would minimise the circulation spaces, maximise the family spaces, regularise the plan forms, understand and plan how the family would move through the dwelling to ensure their ambitions and budget was met. With this in mind we used simple rectangular forms, connecting spaces which were utilitarian, ancillary accommodation which was submissive and allowed us to focus attention and budget in the areas which would be the activity and public rooms. Externally the detailing and connections were clean, low maintenance, minimal variation in materials, simple roof forms with minimal cutting. No fuss, no unnecessary additions, an honesty of design, materials and clarity of aesthetic. External landscaping was again simple, minimal and clean. The dwelling was clearly a contemporary minimal home for a family who had dreamt of this type living environment.