Building Jeffry's House

Commissioned by Donegal County Council, Coillte, and the Irish Architecture Foundation, the small shelter (18sm / 194sf) is named for Jeffry's Lough, a nearby lake that is found on old maps but has long disappeared. In the words of O Brien and Mannion: "Sensitive to the natural beauty of the landscape around it, the structure combines traditional thatching with a slender geometric form and is designed to allow nature to reclaim the ground beneath." Nathalie Weadick, director of the IAF, says about Jeffry's House: "Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion have given us so much more than just an object on a site – they’ve created the potential for a magical conversation between the folly, the landscape and the public."