Jeffry’s House

Jeffry’s House – designed and constructed on site by architect Thomas O’Brien and artist Emily Mannion – is a folly made from thatch on a wooden frame in Ards Forest Park, Donegal.

Ireland’s first architecture installation in a forest park, commissioned by Donegal County Council in partnership with the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF), Coillte and the Earagail Arts Festival was launched on July 27th in Ards Forest Park, Donegal.

Jeffry’s House, designed and constructed by architect Thomas O’Brien and artist Emily Mannion, is named after Jeffry’s Lough, a nearby lake which appears on older maps but has now disappeared.

Standing at the edge of the forest, Jeffry’s House offers shelter and views of the sea, sand dunes and mountains beyond. Sensitive to the natural beauty of the landscape around it, the structure combines traditional thatching with a slender geometric form and is designed to allow nature to reclaim the ground beneath.

Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Siteplan and plant
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Elevations
Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion, Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Sketches


Jeffry’s House, Ards Forest Park, Creeslough, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Program: installation
Design: Thomas O’Brien and Emily Mannion
Commissioned by: Donegal County Council
Completion: July 2014