The Look Out

The Client expressed a desire for an open, airy house maximising the extensive views over the Causeway Coast and Donegal. We responded to the brief with a legible, contemporary house facilitating a free-flowing plan while maintaining the intimacy of a private dwelling. Internal finishes are neutral to create an appropriately low-key background to the panoramic vistas. Thoughtful detailing – notably the bespoke staircase and void above the dining hall – help establish a cohesive architectural language

The external finish is necessarily robust, given the seafront location, but with unobtrusive detailing, combined with limited palette of materials, keeps the external appearance crisp and elegant. The resultant architecture is both sensitive towards its location and unashamedly of its time

Clients Statement:

"We put a lot of thought into ensuring we had the best possible professional help in the construction of our new house. GM Design managed the process efficiently and effectively, producing a simple, hard-wearing and good-looking building which fully met our requirements and was completed below budget.

The enthusiastic multidisciplinary team allows our scope of services to range from private dwellings through to industrial business parks. An open plan office layout boosts creativity whilst providing an integrated design approach to ensure that the client receives the best possible outcome and service. With Chartered Architects and Chartered Architectural Technologists our architectural services include but are not limited to:

Residential development planning
Statutory approvals
Procurement
Construction management
Historic buildings consent
Site selection & appraisal
Feasibility studies
Major & cyclical works programmes
Contract management
Design & build delivery
Social housing
New build
Major & Cyclical works
External work
Condition surveys

The Practice has extensive experience in a wide range of scenarios providing not only an aesthetic appearance but also achieving any necessary BREEAM credits or similar sustainability criteria. The team competently provides services for:

Bespoke private gardens
Public town paths & parks
Historic & costal landscaping
Golf courses, sports facilities & children’s play areas
Landscape & visual impact assessment
Expert witness for planning appeals/public enquiries
University campuses
Parking & access arrangements
Caravan & holiday parks, marinas
Planting schedules, management & maintenance plans
Minerals, landfill and restoration.

The Practice has extensive expertise and exceptional experience in all areas of planning practice including:

Planning Appraisals & Site Feasibility
Planning Applications
Enforcement, provision of advice on regularising unauthorised development
Planning Appeals, Public Inquires and Area Plan. Preparation of written evidence and oral presentation at Appeals and Inquiries
Expert witness and licensing for legal hearings, appeals and public inquiries
Environmental impact assessment
Retail impact assessments
Renewable energy proposals including wind turbines, photovoltaics, etc
Brown field redevelopment & consideration of land contamination
Urban realm and regeneration
Strategic planning and master planning – for the co-ordinated and comprehensive development of large scale sites for residential,commercial and mixed-use developments

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