peter nickels architects

m: 086 3158902

e: mail@peternickelsarchitects.ie

Good design has the power to transform our everyday lives. The design of our homes and workplaces determines, to a large extent, the way we live our lives and has a huge impact on how we feel as we use these places.

Good architectural design should produce functional, efficient and comfortable environments in which to live and work – but, more than this, it should create beautiful, tactile and uplifting places to be in. Good design applies to all aspects of a project, from the big idea to the smallest detail. It encompasses both the ephemeral and the practical - everything from the quality of light in a space to the provision of sufficient and appropriately located storage space.

All buildings are unique to their particular place, function and orientation, and consequently each project requires a design solution that is tailored to its own unique set of circumstances. Buildings should be generated by the specific requirements of their users. However, they must also respond to, and be shaped by, the context in which they sit, whether that be a landscape or an urban street, and take account of their surroundings - other buildings, views and the movement of the sun. Good buildings should not only enrich the lives of their inhabitants but contribute positively to the local environment into which they are placed and be considerate of their impact on the wider, global, environment.

Good design is not about having a huge budget and it is not just for big projects. It is about creating the optimal design solution for the particular set of circumstances, taking into account all of the parameters, constraints and opportunities presented by each individual project.

design philosophy