WHY US?

Why Marshall McCann Architects?

Designing a home is more than creating a beautiful building.

It’s about designing how you want to live.
Most architects begin by asking how many bedrooms you need, how big the kitchen should be, or what style of house you like.

We begin somewhere different.

How do you want your life to feel?
Because the best homes are designed around the people who live in them.
We love to hear your stories, get to know you, to understand you.
And build your house around you.

Designing a better future, together.

Our philosophy is simple.
Great architecture has the power to improve lives.

Research has shown that designing hospitals akin to quality hotels – with a connection to nature and lots of natural light – results in a reduced recovery time for patients. Quality design can even decrease the amount of pain relief medication required and, in general, have a positive effect on the patient’s health.

Studies show that the quality of space & light affects your mood and effectiveness: good architecture helps create an enjoyable place to live and work.

With this in mind, Marshall McCann Architects approaches design from this perspective:

‘When designing a building, we want to help design people’s lives; how you live and work; creating better lives; designing a better future, together. How you live, where you live, and the environment in which you live, has such a huge impact on the quality of your life.’

Of course, that means creating beautiful, energy-efficient buildings that are warm, but not too warm; thermally comfortable.

But it also means creating homes that make everyday life better:
Homes filled with natural light.
Homes that bring families & friends together.
Homes that feel calm, comfortable and effortless to live in.
Homes that improve your wellbeing every single day.

How you live, where you live and the spaces you spend your time in shape your happiness more than most people realise.
That’s why we believe architecture should begin with people, not plans.

Award-winning design

Marshall McCann Architects are an award-winning practice – RIAI & RIBA awards – where our peers, other esteemed architects, have visited our houses and assessed them for quality, design & sustainability, and deemed them award-worthy.

Our first completed home won a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award, RSUA Small Project award and House of the Year Ireland award.

Since then, we’ve been honoured to win a Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) Award for sustainability, House of the Year Ireland three times in four years, Green Practice of the Year Award & Residential Architects Practice of the Year.

We have also been highly commended by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) for Fea House, and for Roisin as Project Architect of the Year.

We deliberately remain a selective practice, allowing us to devote the time, creativity and attention each project deserves.

Whether we’re designing a contemporary family home, boutique hotel, apartment building or community project, our ambition is always the same:
To create architecture that enriches people’s lives.

Thermal Comfort should be intrinsic in all buildings.

As one of Ireland’s early Passive House practices, we’ve spent years refining how beautiful architecture and exceptional building performance work together.

Many architects can design a low-energy building.
Many can design a beautiful one. Few have the built Passive House experience.

We believe you shouldn’t have to choose between beauty and energy-efficiency.

Your home should feel as good as it looks:
Warm in winter.
Cool in summer.
Filled with fresh air.
Flooded with natural light.
Comfortable, healthy and remarkably inexpensive to run.

Every decision we make considers both the emotional experience of living in your home and the science that makes it perform beautifully for decades to come.

We design with you, not just for you.

Building your home should be exciting. Joyful.
It shouldn’t feel overwhelming.
From the very first conversation, we take time to understand not only what you want to build, but why.

We ask questions that many people haven’t considered before.

How do you spend time together?
How do you entertain?
Where do you feel happiest?
How do you imagine your life in ten years’ time?

Because once we understand the life you’re trying to create, the architecture becomes a natural response. The stories, the feelings, become lines, become walls.

Our role isn’t simply to design a house.

It is to guide you through one of life’s biggest investments with clarity, confidence and enjoyment.

Many of our clients tell us the process itself becomes one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.

Great architecture isn’t just about what you gain.
It’s also about what you avoid.

Having listened to you, guided you, gave insights, and helped you understand what it is, and how you want your house to be – now and in the future – the main thing we, Marshall McCann Architects, deliver on, is certainty.

Building a home is one of the largest investments you will likely ever make.

Every decision affects the next.

Get them right and your home becomes a joy to live in for decades.

Get them wrong and they’re often expensive – or impossible – to put right.

That’s why our role extends far beyond designing beautiful spaces.

We help you make informed decisions with confidence.

From choosing the right site, orientating your home for natural light, managing planning constraints and coordinating consultants, through to construction detailing, procurement and quality on site, our experience helps reduce uncertainty at every stage.

Our clients often tell us the greatest value we bring isn’t simply the finished home.
It’s the confidence to make decisions – small decisions at a time – to know that you are making the correct decision, for you.

Reducing stress, by making decisions early.

Making complex decisions easier.

Preventing expensive mistakes; Fewer construction mistakes. Lower long-term running costs. Better user experience. Increased property value.

To hear Roisin talk about our Design Ethos on ‘My Architecture: Designing a Better Future, Together’ to her fellow architects at the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA)

Where she discusses Marshall McCann’s values, vision, philosophies, and the ideas and concepts behind some of her work; as well as where Marshall McCann, as a practice, are moving forward to.

Watch the presentation here.