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Irish Times
15th November 2007

Extensions that allow you to stay put
by Emma Cullinan

Some architectural practices are now specialising at the high end where finishes are good, the clients get an extension that suits their lifestyle and which links into the existing house well, rather than being a one-size-fits-all add-on to a house, says Gary Mongey, of Box Architecture.

Renovations of existing houses do tend to swallow money, especially in period homes, says Mongey. "Rewiring, replastering and replumbing and the need to spend money on the original fabric can mean throwing a lot of money into the existing house which you don't really see." He points out that one difference between a bespoke and standard extension is the way the new structure knits into the existing house and how the circulation works between them.

"We will first look at a house, see what is and isn't working and analyse what needs doing. Sometimes a wall on the original house needs to disappear and we work on making the connection so good that people don't realize it's there, for instance by having the floor level the throughout."

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