A DKTN Kira façade to withstand the Irish weather

Michael O’Brien

Numéro d'image 32 de la section actuelle de Cork Residential de Cosentino France

Location

Cork, Ireland

Application

Glued façade

Matériau

DKTN

Couleur

Kira

Monteur

Michael O’Brien

Épaisseur

1,2 cm

End Date

2020

An impressive façade made of five materials

This spectacular home in the heart of Cork was completed in 2020 The designer, Michael O’Brien, wanted to do something different on the façade and DKTN immediately came to mind. Michael had discovered DKTN in the showroom of Hickey Granite. When he first saw it, he was impressed with the size of the slabs and the material’s resistance to external factors such as ultra-violet rays, freezing and scratching.

DKTN Kira was fitted on the front façade of the home and on the side walls, which are highly exposed to unfavourable weather conditions. It was also used to frame the windows of the barbecue area (ground floor) in a more aesthetically pleasing way.

The uniqueness of the Ballycotton house lies in the five elements of its façade: DKTN, natural stone, plaster, zinc and wood. The combination of textures works perfectly in both visual and functional terms. The materials used are low maintenance and ideal for a house situated on a cliff top and exposed to Irish weather conditions.

DKTN Kira: the perfect combination with stone

Once DKTN had been selected, the next step was to choose the most suitable colour from an infinite number of options. Michael opted for the Kira colour because it best matched the stone. To do this, he ordered several samples from Cosentino and fitted them, along with the other materials, in the right place and exposed to the light they were to receive. He fell in love with Kira’s small grey veining and texture.

As for the cutting of DKTN Kira, although the original idea was to use it in a large seamless format, in the end O’Brien preferred to cut it into long pieces of different widths. By doing so, the façade achieves a visual effect of greater height.

In this home, twelve 12mm thick slabs were used to clad an area of 100m2. The slabs were ‘glued’ directly onto an existing façade, which precluded the use of other more efficient systems, such as a ventilated façade, but significantly reduced the cost.

The use of five materials, the irregular cutting and its installation with adhesive are the special features of this unusual façade. Without a doubt, the façade is the best introduction to this impressive home perched on the cliffs of Cork.