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The judges compare notes.
Sorry, you must enable Javascript to display media contentDes Ewing, Suzanne Garuda and Michael Dunn have a friendly disagreement.
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Laurence's Diary entry for County Tyrone
I’ve got incredibly fond memories of County Tyrone. It wasn’t the sunniest shooting experience ....but the warmth of the welcome whereever we went banished the clouds. It also gave the series there extremely individual properties, from an explosion in a paint factory to a dignified evocation of Edwardian elegance and a fascinating re-furbishimentof an old family mill site.
It’s a great way of kicking this series off because it shows quite how varied Northern Ireland contemporary architectural talent actually is.
One of the things we’re particularly committed to in House of The Year is diversity of style, scale and budget and County Tyrone had it all.
Obviously I’m not allowed to indulge myself with personal favourites - in fact even if I was three houses from County Tyrone would prove impossible to judge one more favourite than another.
County Tyrone has some of the most beautiful and characteristic landscapes that Northern Ireland has to offer. And one of the great thrills for me is to see contemporary architecture of this kind of quality nestling in countryside of the calibre of Tyrone.
I’m sure you’ll love programme one and become as every bit as engaged with the properties we visit as our esteemed judges. -
Suzanne Garuda is the owner and creative director and Garuda Design on Belfast’s Ormeau Road.
Suzanne started her career with a foundation course in Jordanstown before undertaking a Fine Art Painting degree in Central Saint Martins College in London. She then studied at the highly respected Van Der Kelen School of Painting in Brussels where she achieved a Gold Medal.
Returning to London she worked on projects in the National Portrait Gallery and for the Sultan of Brunei. Hungry for experience and a desire to travel she took on a contract in Milan to work on the decoration to two five-star hotels – the Principe di Savoia and The Palace. It was here that Suzanne met an Italian architect who invited her to decorate two private villas in Kuwait. During her decorating career she has also worked for the late King Hussein of Jordan and worked on 30 State Rooms in the Kremlin, Moscow.
Having returned to Ireland in the mid 1990s Suzanne saw a gap in the market for a design-led interior design company and time-wise this coincided with the Celtic Tiger and the property boom across Ireland.
Jobs completed in Ireland over the last decade include the extension of the K Club Hotel, where Garuda completed 40 residences for the Ryder Cup in 2006, Peploe’s Restaurant in Dublin and 24 state-of-the-art homes in Killeen Castle, Co Meath, as well as many private residences.
Last year Garuda Design expanded its horizons again with the completion of a private residence in Knightsbridge and offices in Pall Mall and Morocco.
Suzanne Garuda has brought her world-wide experience over the last 20 years to develop the company into one which can stand proudly on the international stage. Garuda’s philosophy is a spiritual one – very simply, that a home is the most important place in life and it is the duty of public spaces to lift our collective spirits. -
Michael Dunn, independent property consultant
Michael Dunn was born and brought up in Belfast and for the last 10 years has been living in Strangford, County Down.
Since 1985 his career has involved working for some of Northern Irelands leading and most successful estate agencies and property developers. Before setting up on his own in 2009, Michael held the position of Associate Partner for one of Northern Irelands leading estate agencies. He has a wealth of experience and has acted in the sale and purchase of everything from first time buyer homes to some of the country’s most exclusive residences.
As an Independent Property Consultant, Michael offers a tailor made service to suit the needs of individuals and companies across the country. He prides himself on his wide knowledge and the level of personal service which he is able offer.
He has a strong interest in architecture and although he lives in a 200 year old house, he also appreciates contemporary design. -
Des Ewing, Head judge on House of the Year
Des Ewing is a registered Architect and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
He is one of Northern Ireland’s most high profile architects. Based in Holywood, County Down, together with his team his busy architectural practice is proficient in carrying out an all inclusive concept.
The practice specialises exclusively in Residential Design. His commissions consist of a breadth of ‘once in a lifetime’ homes, renovation of individual properties along with commercial residential projects.
He has won numerous awards and accolade for his portfolio which could best be described as ‘Classic Contemporary’.
Des, originally from County Tyrone, graduated from ‘Leeds School of Architecture’ in 1989, worked at the Belfast Office of BDP for five years prior to setting up his own practice. His first solo commissions consisted of the design, and project managing of three individual large one off houses located in different parts of Northern Ireland.
His primary role was builder. This covered a multitude of tasks ranging from co-ordinating the site works, employing staff, labouring, driving site machinery as well as ensuring that all materials required were ordered and delivered to site to ensure the works programme was fully adhered to.
This experience, with a steep learning curve, covered a whole host of skills which were mastered with sheer determination and steadfastness. This is an experience that he would recommend to all architects.
Des Ewing Architects has been in practice now for over 15 years and has been responsible for more than 100 individual homes and numerous exclusive residential developments. As the team concentrate solely on residential projects it enables them to hone their techniques and continue to cultivate the technical fine points to produce more beautiful, practical and resilient homes.
Credits
- Presenter
- Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
- Producer
- Carole O'Kane
- Producer
- Feargal O'Kane
