Mr. and Mrs. Ring’s Private Residence in Ireland has been granted an award by the Andalusia Association of Businessmen of Marble for its use of local natural stone in the building’s dressing. The building put the material to good use in a decorative and functional manner.

The panel granted the 2009 Foreign Project of the Macael Awards to the Private Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Ring, located in County Kerry (Ireland), featuring solid moldings and cornices, columns, windowsills, crowning pediments, stone facing, flooring and staircases.

The Macael Awards recognize all individuals and institutions supporting and promoting the natural stone industry, in Spain as well as abroad. The harmonious design of Mr. and Mrs. Ring’s Private Residence allowed the creation of a majestic, elegant and ornate building, highlighting the different ways in which natural stone can be used.

From the very beginning, the main priority was to achieve an elegant, complete but by no means over-elaborate finish to this construction characterized by its neoclassical design. The majesty of this work comes from the apartment’s impressive dimensions, with a 30-meter long and 25-meter wide front wall forming a rectangular floor that is internally structured.

Project

The Private Residence architectural project was designed with great delicacy given that the initial working of the material was an integral part of the building’s structure. All perimeter moldings were made of solid stone and fixed to the perimeter walls. The moldings in turn reinforce the wall thus completing the apartment’s enclosure.

A running central cornice or molding, 65 cm deep and 30 cm thick, encircles the entire residence and separates the lower and upper floors. A crowning running perimeter cornice completes the construction. Made of solid stone, it too is embedded into the building’s structure. It is 90 cm deep and 45 cm thick.

Stone facing made of the very same marble extends between the two perimeter cornices. It is 3 cm thick with horizontal quirks interrupting the impression of flatness exuded by its large area. The construction’s great many windows show that light is a main concern for the residents. Modern architecture in Ireland places emphasis on natural light as it is considered somewhat of a scarce commodity.

The elegance of the 48 large windows is emphasized by the bordering molded cladding with solid stone, molded windowsills. This effect is even further enhanced by the upper crowning triangular pediments. The upper windows are distinguishable from their lower counterparts in that they are taller and their windowsills have bracketed support.

Finally, the portico is especially noteworthy. The main entrance to the residence consists of four columns each 7 m in height ending with 4 Corinthian styled capitals supporting an upper pediment of 7 m in length. All of these elements are made of the same cream colored marble.

Materials
In the construction of the Private Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Ring in Ireland, 1,200 m of plinth course, cornices and moldings were used in the façade construction. 1,200 m2 of 3 cm thick stone facing was used, as well as four columns, a triangular pediment for the main entrance and other finishes, comprising a total of 290 m3 of cream marble.