Silver Bark house

by Marshall McCann Architects

Client Four Seven Homes

Awards RIBA Northern Ireland Award 2025 and RIBA Northern Ireland Sustainability Award 2025 (sponsored by Autodesk)

The award winner tells us, "Silver Bark nestles into a gently sloping site framed by mature trees and overlooking panoramic views of the Mourne Mountains. This contractor led project redefines what is possible for a development house by achieving understated luxury alongside exceptional sustainability.

Designed to be sustainable and passive, it exceeds RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge carbon reduction targets by over 50%, incorporating a timber frame, wood fibre insulation, and minimal concrete use to achieve outstanding energy efficiency and thermal comfort.

The house is composed of three interconnected volumes that minimise visual impact and frame a sheltered courtyard capturing sunlight and offering refuge from the wind. Timber cladding seamlessly flows over walls and roof, blending harmoniously with its rural surroundings. Oversized windows flood the interiors with natural light, creating spaces that are calm, tactile, and deeply connected to nature.

Silver Bark offers a blueprint for sustainable, beautiful living, proving that thoughtful design can thrive even within tight budgetary constraints."

The jury says, "The two forms are set at an angle to each other, introducing a conscious informality into the site, and generating, in the space that lies between them, a sheltered courtyard garden. Everything is made of timber – structure and cladding – and the unusually thick walls and roofs are insulated with cellulose, a recycled paper product. The house was designed to Passivhaus standards and achieves a high level of airtightness."

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.

Contractor Four Seven Homes

Structural engineer JSC Consulting

Gross internal area 359.2m²