McGonigle McGrath LLP

Hill House

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

Hill House 

McGonigle McGrath

PROGRAM / USE / BUILDING FUNCTION
Private Dwelling

AWARDS 
Riba Regional Award / Rsua Design Award 2023, Rsua House Of The Year Award 2023, The Liam Mccormick Prize (Rsua Overall Building Of The Year) 2023, Riba National Award 2023

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Design Id

CONSTRUCTION
Mcgrady Contracts

PHOTOGRAPHS
Aidan Mcgrath

AREA
585 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Ballylesson, United Kingdom

CATEGORY
Houses

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

The site comprised a modest single-story 1960s house in a mature garden on the periphery of a small village located about 5 kilometers south of Belfast and within the Lagan Valley Regional Park, a mosaic of countryside, parks, and nature reserves.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

The Giant’s Ring, a neolithic henge monument in state care, lies a short distance due north. The site benefitted from panoramic views of the river valley and the hills beyond, and although the existing house was basic, an extended room had been carefully made with painted brick walls and a dark timber-sheeted butterfly roof.

The clients, a couple and their young family, had a requirement for additional space and facilities well beyond the capacity of the existing house, including 5 bedrooms and a large family space which could be also used for entertaining, and support spaces.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

There was a further requirement for separate guest facilities, a gym, and a workshop, remote from the main suite of rooms.

The client has an interest in mid-century modernist architecture and is an avid art collector, leading to a requirement for some tall or voluminous spaces to accommodate possible large-scale modern paintings.

Following initial studies, it was clear that a replacement dwelling would best serve the client’s spatial requirements.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

The new dwelling is carefully placed into the existing garden to allow retention of many mature trees and shrubs and is expressed as 2 forms, each rectangular in plan, in a linear arrangement but offset from each other in plan and section to negotiate the sloping topography and to respond to the views.

The larger form, to the south and to the entrance side, contains the main entrance and the living/entertaining spaces in a single volume, complete with a mezzanine play/study area and a sunken ‘conversation pit’ underneath, whilst the smaller form to the north and in the private garden, contains vertical circulation with snug, study and parents suite on the lower floor, and children’s bedrooms on the upper floor, each floor level a half story down or up from the main living level.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

A third form is positioned at right angles to the main house and contains the ancillary accommodation. Extending walls define the public arrival courtyard space from the private garden beyond.

The forms are constructed in grey brick (natural outside, painted inside), the roofs of the main house forming a low gullwing along their length, reflecting both the spirit of the previous dwelling and creating a profile to reference the surrounding rolling landscape and distant hills.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

Walls are thickened to accommodate the steel frame construction and high levels of insulation.

Externally, the elevations are carefully composed employing deep reveals, perforated brick, and large areas of walls without windows, to assist the monolithic brick form expression and to create privacy within the house.

Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath

Windows are dark stained hardwood (another nod to the previous house), floors are mainly polished concrete, and a zinc roof with large flush-mounted roof lights helps flood the interior with light.


Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath
Hill House
© Aidan McGrath


Hill House
Elevations 01
Hill House
Elevations 02


Hill House
Section 01
Hill House
Section 02


Hill House
Plan - Ground floor
Hill House
Plan - 1st floor


Hill House
Plan - Location
Hill House
Plan - Site

McGonigle McGrath LLP
T +44 28 90460838
McGonigle McGrath LLP
Unit B1, 01, 310 Newtownards Rd, Belfast BT4 1HE, United Kingdom