We are delighted to share that Carnlough House, our very first completed house, will feature in the upcoming series of BBC NI House of the Year on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer.

Designed over a decade ago for the Patterson family, Carnlough House is a coastal home overlooking Carnlough Bay on the Antrim Coast, designed to maximise sea views and respond to its hillside setting. The project marked an early and formative step in our practice and helped shape our wider body of work.

An upside-down coastal house shaped by sea views

Set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Carnlough House is described by the BBC as “an upside-down property designed around spectacular sea views.” The inverted plan places the main living spaces at upper level, allowing the house to fully engage with light, sky and long coastal views, while bedrooms sit more quietly within the landscape below.

Generous glazing frames views across Carnlough Bay while maintaining privacy from neighbouring properties. The architecture is deliberately restrained, allowing the surrounding coastline, changing weather and light conditions to shape the experience of the home.

A formative project for our practice

As our first completed house, Carnlough House played a significant role in shaping our early thinking around place, proportion and the relationship between architecture and landscape. Many of the principles explored here continue to underpin our work today, particularly in coastal settings across Ireland.

It remains a project we feel deeply connected to, and it is especially meaningful to see it revisited through BBC NI House of the Year.

Carnlough House is an example of an upside-down house design, where living spaces are positioned at upper level to take advantage of light and views. This approach is particularly suited to coastal and hillside sites.

BBC NI House of the Year

The new six-part series of BBC NI House of the Year, presented by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and judged by architect Jane Larmour, interior designer James Fairley and interiors business owner Patricia McGinnis, begins on Monday 5th January 2026 on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer, with Carnlough House featured in Episode 5.

For more information on the series, visit the BBC House of the Year Northern Ireland programme page.

View the Carnlough House project.

‍

Project: Carnlough House, County Antrim
Photography: Donal McCann
‍