An Leabharlann (The Library)
Client: Private
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 28 sqm / 301 sqft
Status: in Construction
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2024-
A reading room and writing refuge nestled into the hillside is delicately grafted onto the side of a stone vernacular two-storey farmhouse
Drawing inspiration from the single-barrel-vaulted hay barns once prevalent across Kerry's agricultural landscape, the library adopts their elemental form and material character. These barns—roofed in corrugated steel and sited close to the farmhouse—once played a vital role in rural life, serving as shelters for hay and livestock. Though now increasingly rare, their typology is deeply embedded in the collective memory of the Irish countryside. The form of the new structure pays homage to this vanishing heritage, reasserting its presence in a contemporary context and on a site where hay was once traditionally piled into a coca féir by the former farmer.
The library will be clad in stone salvaged from the ruins of the client’s grandmother’s birthplace—a long-collapsed homestead in nearby Doonshean whose weathered stones carry layers of personal and cultural memory.
A glazed internal stair delicately connects the library to the original farmhouse, creating a transparent threshold between past and present. Within, an enfilade of naturally lit spaces, layered views are framed through the structure and out toward the rolling fields and distant Atlantic horizon. The vaulted ceiling enhances the verticality of the space, drawing the eye upward and reinforcing the contemplative atmosphere.
The material palette is intentionally restrained and tactile. Custom oak shelving and low-level cabinetry line the interior, housing the clients’ expansive book collection and serving as both a practical amenity and an expressive architectural feature.
A generous window seat offers an invitation to pause, read, or gaze outward. Oriented toward the sun and the sea, it offers a place of stillness and solace, where the rhythms of landscape and light can be quietly observed and absorbed.
Client: Private
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 28 sqm / 301 sqft
Status: in Construction
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2024-
A reading room and writing refuge nestled into the hillside is delicately grafted onto the side of a stone vernacular two-storey farmhouse
Drawing inspiration from the single-barrel-vaulted hay barns once prevalent across Kerry's agricultural landscape, the library adopts their elemental form and material character. These barns—roofed in corrugated steel and sited close to the farmhouse—once played a vital role in rural life, serving as shelters for hay and livestock. Though now increasingly rare, their typology is deeply embedded in the collective memory of the Irish countryside. The form of the new structure pays homage to this vanishing heritage, reasserting its presence in a contemporary context and on a site where hay was once traditionally piled into a coca féir by the former farmer.
The library will be clad in stone salvaged from the ruins of the client’s grandmother’s birthplace—a long-collapsed homestead in nearby Doonshean whose weathered stones carry layers of personal and cultural memory.
A glazed internal stair delicately connects the library to the original farmhouse, creating a transparent threshold between past and present. Within, an enfilade of naturally lit spaces, layered views are framed through the structure and out toward the rolling fields and distant Atlantic horizon. The vaulted ceiling enhances the verticality of the space, drawing the eye upward and reinforcing the contemplative atmosphere.
The material palette is intentionally restrained and tactile. Custom oak shelving and low-level cabinetry line the interior, housing the clients’ expansive book collection and serving as both a practical amenity and an expressive architectural feature.
A generous window seat offers an invitation to pause, read, or gaze outward. Oriented toward the sun and the sea, it offers a place of stillness and solace, where the rhythms of landscape and light can be quietly observed and absorbed.
Bungalow Bliss
Client: Private
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 220sqm / 2368 sqft
Status: in Planning
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2024-
Drawing on the vernacular agrarian typologies characteristic of rural Ireland, the proposed works reconfigure the existing dwelling into an L-shaped plan that creates a pair of “kissing gables,” forming a welcoming entrance courtyard and reinforcing a sense of arrival and enclosure. To the rear, the new footprint frames a sheltered, south-facing courtyard garden, enhancing solar gain, natural ventilation, and outdoor amenity. This arrangement echoes the weather-conscious planning of traditional Irish farm clusters—settlements shaped by their inward-facing nature, resilience to Atlantic conditions, and strong sense of communal enclosure.
Where feasible, the original wet-dash rendered walls will be retained and repaired, preserving the understated character of the existing bungalow while minimising demolition waste. The external material palette is firmly rooted in the local vernacular, favouring natural, durable finishes that harmonise with the rugged Kerry landscape and reflect its agricultural heritage.
Internally, the design introduces vaulted communal living spaces—a contemporary reimagining of the traditional direct-entry cottage, where various aspects of domestic life once coexisted under a single roof. This spatial strategy balances openness with intimacy, fostering a sense of connection while supporting the rhythms of modern, open-plan living.
Client: Private
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 220sqm / 2368 sqft
Status: in Planning
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2024-
Drawing on the vernacular agrarian typologies characteristic of rural Ireland, the proposed works reconfigure the existing dwelling into an L-shaped plan that creates a pair of “kissing gables,” forming a welcoming entrance courtyard and reinforcing a sense of arrival and enclosure. To the rear, the new footprint frames a sheltered, south-facing courtyard garden, enhancing solar gain, natural ventilation, and outdoor amenity. This arrangement echoes the weather-conscious planning of traditional Irish farm clusters—settlements shaped by their inward-facing nature, resilience to Atlantic conditions, and strong sense of communal enclosure.
Where feasible, the original wet-dash rendered walls will be retained and repaired, preserving the understated character of the existing bungalow while minimising demolition waste. The external material palette is firmly rooted in the local vernacular, favouring natural, durable finishes that harmonise with the rugged Kerry landscape and reflect its agricultural heritage.
Internally, the design introduces vaulted communal living spaces—a contemporary reimagining of the traditional direct-entry cottage, where various aspects of domestic life once coexisted under a single roof. This spatial strategy balances openness with intimacy, fostering a sense of connection while supporting the rhythms of modern, open-plan living.
Dick Macks Pub
Client: Dick Mack’s Pub Ltd
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 96 sqm / 1000 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2022-
We were invited by Dick Mack’s — a Dingle institution since 1899 — to reconfigure and extend the ‘back bar’ area, introducing a new bar, additional seating, and upgraded toilet facilities. The project aimed to honour the distinctive character of the historic front bar without replicating it, avoiding pastiche while establishing a complementary identity for the rear spaces.
The new layout and material palette take cues from the original, reinterpreted with subtle variation. Timber, used both pragmatically and expressively, becomes the unifying element throughout. It lines the walls to soften acoustics and introduce warmth and texture, while also forming the fixed furniture: bar counters, shelving, seating, and snugs. Existing openings were retained where possible, and new ones introduced to strengthen spatial and visual connections between adjoining rooms.
A central design idea is the use of repetition as ornament. Along new walls, a veil of evenly spaced, CNC-machined solid oak battens wraps the interior like a continuous ribbon, aligned at a fixed datum. Below bar-counter height, the battens remain square and solid; above, they are scalloped at eye level, introducing a gentle play of light and shadow. Doors are discreetly integrated into this timber band, while fluted glass partitions in the snug areas provide a softly obscured boundary between public and private space.
Oak was chosen not only for its tactile warmth and enduring appearance, but also for its deeper cultural resonance — long revered in Irish mythology as a symbol of strength, wisdom, and resilience.
Elsewhere, new interventions reveal and celebrate the building’s layered history. Thick cement render was stripped from stone walls to expose the original textured stone fabric. Construction idiosyncrasies were embraced: a lintel formed from a length of old Dingle railway track is preserved and made visible; original brick reveals were retained and sensitively restored.
To the rear, a single-storey extension replaces a former lean-to, creating a new room that opens onto a south-facing yard with views toward Dick Mack’s Brewery. Clad in locally sourced recycled stone — a direct response to the exposed interior stone walls — the new volume draws on the scale, materiality, and proportions of the pub’s Victorian-era fabric, ensuring the addition feels both grounded and respectful.
Main Contractor: OL Construction
Joinery: Sean Kennedy (Kitchens)
Tiling: Tile Master Ardfert
Client: Dick Mack’s Pub Ltd
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 96 sqm / 1000 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: Co. Kerry
Date: 2022-
We were invited by Dick Mack’s — a Dingle institution since 1899 — to reconfigure and extend the ‘back bar’ area, introducing a new bar, additional seating, and upgraded toilet facilities. The project aimed to honour the distinctive character of the historic front bar without replicating it, avoiding pastiche while establishing a complementary identity for the rear spaces.
The new layout and material palette take cues from the original, reinterpreted with subtle variation. Timber, used both pragmatically and expressively, becomes the unifying element throughout. It lines the walls to soften acoustics and introduce warmth and texture, while also forming the fixed furniture: bar counters, shelving, seating, and snugs. Existing openings were retained where possible, and new ones introduced to strengthen spatial and visual connections between adjoining rooms.
A central design idea is the use of repetition as ornament. Along new walls, a veil of evenly spaced, CNC-machined solid oak battens wraps the interior like a continuous ribbon, aligned at a fixed datum. Below bar-counter height, the battens remain square and solid; above, they are scalloped at eye level, introducing a gentle play of light and shadow. Doors are discreetly integrated into this timber band, while fluted glass partitions in the snug areas provide a softly obscured boundary between public and private space.
Oak was chosen not only for its tactile warmth and enduring appearance, but also for its deeper cultural resonance — long revered in Irish mythology as a symbol of strength, wisdom, and resilience.
Elsewhere, new interventions reveal and celebrate the building’s layered history. Thick cement render was stripped from stone walls to expose the original textured stone fabric. Construction idiosyncrasies were embraced: a lintel formed from a length of old Dingle railway track is preserved and made visible; original brick reveals were retained and sensitively restored.
To the rear, a single-storey extension replaces a former lean-to, creating a new room that opens onto a south-facing yard with views toward Dick Mack’s Brewery. Clad in locally sourced recycled stone — a direct response to the exposed interior stone walls — the new volume draws on the scale, materiality, and proportions of the pub’s Victorian-era fabric, ensuring the addition feels both grounded and respectful.
Main Contractor: OL Construction
Joinery: Sean Kennedy (Kitchens)
Tiling: Tile Master Ardfert
Morris+Company
Client: Morris+Company Ltd
Type: Renovation
Gross Internal Area: 672 sqm / 7000 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: London Borough of Hackney
Date: 2020-2022
From 2017 to 2023, Luke Matone worked as a project architect at Morris+Company Architects, where he led the major refurbishment of a former warehouse in East London. The project transformed the existing structure into a multi-level, high-street-facing workspace that now serves as the practice’s own studio.
Conceived as a model for adaptive reuse, the design was grounded in principles of sustainability, flexibility, and circular construction. A focus on minimising embodied carbon drove the reuse of as much of the existing building fabric as possible — including salvaged glazed partitions, which were carefully re-integrated into a new modular wall system made from solid softwood timber.
This demountable timber partition — designed for future reconfiguration — also acts as a light-diffusing element, drawing natural light across the ground floor and encouraging visual connection with the street outside. Softwood, a low-carbon material, was chosen both for its renewability and simplicity, supporting the project’s ethos of honest, adaptable construction.
The basement houses a material archive, model workshop, photography studio, and ‘end-of-journey’ facilities — much of it constructed using repurposed joinery from previous studio fit-outs, extending the life of materials already in circulation.
On the first floor, a flexible open-plan studio accommodates 52 workstations, alongside meeting rooms, private call booths, and informal breakout areas — all designed to support a collaborative, future-proof working environment.
Main Contractor: EGG Group
Photography: Jack Hobhouse
Client: Morris+Company Ltd
Type: Renovation
Gross Internal Area: 672 sqm / 7000 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: London Borough of Hackney
Date: 2020-2022
From 2017 to 2023, Luke Matone worked as a project architect at Morris+Company Architects, where he led the major refurbishment of a former warehouse in East London. The project transformed the existing structure into a multi-level, high-street-facing workspace that now serves as the practice’s own studio.
Conceived as a model for adaptive reuse, the design was grounded in principles of sustainability, flexibility, and circular construction. A focus on minimising embodied carbon drove the reuse of as much of the existing building fabric as possible — including salvaged glazed partitions, which were carefully re-integrated into a new modular wall system made from solid softwood timber.
This demountable timber partition — designed for future reconfiguration — also acts as a light-diffusing element, drawing natural light across the ground floor and encouraging visual connection with the street outside. Softwood, a low-carbon material, was chosen both for its renewability and simplicity, supporting the project’s ethos of honest, adaptable construction.
The basement houses a material archive, model workshop, photography studio, and ‘end-of-journey’ facilities — much of it constructed using repurposed joinery from previous studio fit-outs, extending the life of materials already in circulation.
On the first floor, a flexible open-plan studio accommodates 52 workstations, alongside meeting rooms, private call booths, and informal breakout areas — all designed to support a collaborative, future-proof working environment.
Main Contractor: EGG Group
Photography: Jack Hobhouse
Artists Behind Bars
Client: Bláithín Mac Donnell
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 2.56 sqm / 28 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: London Borough of Islington
Date: 2022
In collaboration with Artist Bláithín Mac Donnell, 'The Snug and Stories' installed as part of Kitty Finer's Artist Behind Bars at The Bomb Factory, London is a simplified replica of an Irish pub snug.
The purpose of the structure was to facilitate a series of live spoken word performances and to host an audience.
The simple modular concept evolved from an aspiration to utilise a palette of ‘off-the-shelf’ and uncut solid timber softwood sections, twinwall cardboard sheets and clear polycarbonate roofing sheets that could be transported by bicycle. It was designed to be fully demountable by hand and reconfigurable as needed in the future.
After the exhibition ended the structure was dissassembled and reassembled elsewhere.
Client: Bláithín Mac Donnell
Type: Renovation and Addition
Gross Internal Area: 2.56 sqm / 28 sqft
Status: Complete
Location: London Borough of Islington
Date: 2022
In collaboration with Artist Bláithín Mac Donnell, 'The Snug and Stories' installed as part of Kitty Finer's Artist Behind Bars at The Bomb Factory, London is a simplified replica of an Irish pub snug.
The purpose of the structure was to facilitate a series of live spoken word performances and to host an audience.
The simple modular concept evolved from an aspiration to utilise a palette of ‘off-the-shelf’ and uncut solid timber softwood sections, twinwall cardboard sheets and clear polycarbonate roofing sheets that could be transported by bicycle. It was designed to be fully demountable by hand and reconfigurable as needed in the future.
After the exhibition ended the structure was dissassembled and reassembled elsewhere.
