The most meaningful spaces are often the least spoken about – the spaces that are unintentional, inconsequential, afterthoughts. The sliver of space between a barn and a shed, the boundary wall, or the hedge that has been pushed back behind the fencepost. These are in-between spaces, spaces of passage, of transition, of reflection.  Contemporary architecture tends to celebrate the building and the landmark. But if we actually look around us, we see a different sentiment. The

As part of my studies in my fourth year at SAUL, I took part in an elective called ‘Building Land’ – an elective which sought to meticulously and intensely document, draw and represent a partially-disused farmyard and cottage in Co. Kerry. The elective was based on the idea of looking at something slowly, carefully and for a long time, and using this technique to gain understanding of the processes involved in the growth, use, and subsequent disuse of the farmyard and cottage

Generally speaking, there are telltale signs as to how old things are. You can tell how old a cast iron gate is by the amount of rust and by how level the gate hangs. The fresh grain of larch gives way to a honeyed gold, then slowly becomes a silver-grey. Stone walls soften under lichen and moss, and plastered walls and lime washes fade in beautifully uneven streaks.  In modern construction culture, these signs of ageing are often seen as decline, as a warning that ‘ this has