The Irish Times

There's a housing scheme in Tipperary town which is positively utopian. The houses have a traditional appearance, with white walls and pitched roofs, but they have open-plan interiors to suit modern life. Like farm buildings of old, they are based around courtyards, allowing for privacy and protection, yet the buildings are grouped with neighbouring properties along fingers of greenery, to encourage residential relations. These small neighbourhoods sit within a wider green area that is shared by the complete housing scheme. The housing scheme has a community centre and crèche within walking distance of all the houses. There are play areas dotted around, also within skipping distance of each house, and pedestrians and cycles take precedence over cars in the road layouts. This is a private housing scheme of three, four and five-bed houses designed to encourage people back into town living. It provides many answers to the problems of today - including one-off housing in the outskirts of towns and desolate city centres - yet sadly it only exists on paper, the work of three architectural practices.