Designing Homes Across Ireland

2020 Architects

2020 Architects is an all-Ireland architectural practice, designing distinctive homes for clients across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Our projects stretch from the north coast of Antrim to West Cork, from Donegal and Galway in the west to Dublin and the east coast. We have clients building in towns, villages, open countryside and some of the most spectacular coastal landscapes in Ireland.

The map of our current and completed projects shows how the practice has grown from its north-coast roots into a genuinely all-Ireland service. We started on the north coast, and we are proud of those roots. Today, we have an office there, an Irish company and a base in County Roscommon. Our work extends across the island. This gives our clients something we think is quite unusual: the reach and experience of a genuinely all-Ireland architectural practice.

Choose an architect whose work feels right for you

The starting point is always design.

Clients who contact us from Galway, Limerick, Cork, Kerry or elsewhere in Ireland didn’t start by searching ‘architect near me’. They have found one of our houses online, seen our work on social media or been referred by somebody who knows a 2020 project. They contact us because they like what we design. That connection is an important foundation for choosing an architect. For a home you may live in for the next 30 years, proximity should not outweigh finding an architect whose work and approach are right for you. The right fit also depends on how an architect approaches materials, space and the way people live.

2020 is a multi-award-winning design practice whose work has received RTÉ Home of the Year alongside other architectural awards and recognition. An equally meaningful endorsement is that clients across Ireland are willing to look beyond their nearest practice to work with us. The growth of the practice across Ireland has happened largely because people see our houses, like what we do and ask us to bring that approach to their project.

Experience Across Ireland

Working across Ireland has given us experience of an unusually wide range of sites, landscapes and planning contexts – from exposed Atlantic coastlines and rural farmland to towns, villages and more suburban locations.

Our in-house planning consultant has worked on projects throughout Ireland, giving us practical experience of different local authorities, development plans and approaches to rural housing. That experience matters. Every project has its own opportunities and constraints: orientation, access, views, neighbouring buildings, landscape and, importantly, the local planning context. What matters is understanding the site, understanding the client and making the right design decisions for both.

An Irish practice in every practical sense

Working throughout Ireland is not simply a matter of being prepared to travel.

2020 has an Irish company and a base in County Roscommon. Our architects are members of the RIAI, the professional body for architects in Ireland, and we are PSDP accredited, as required under Irish health and safety legislation. We work every day within both the Irish and Northern Irish planning systems, alongside consultants, contractors and suppliers. Someone building in Limerick, Galway, Cork or elsewhere in the country is therefore appointing a practice that already understands the relevant systems and works across the island as part of its everyday operations.

This is simply how we operate.

Technology has also changed the practical relationship between architect and client. Some meetings are better face-to-face; others are more convenient online. Site visits and important meetings happen in person when they are needed. Distance has become much less important than having the right team around a project.

There is a significant financial advantage too

Design may be what first brings clients to 2020, but there is another important reason why our all-Ireland approach works.

Our fees are extremely competitive.

Architectural fees can vary considerably across Ireland, and most design practices still calculate their fees as a percentage of the eventual construction cost. On a €600,000 build, for example, an architectural fee of 8% would be €48,000.

At 2020 we take a different approach.

We offer several options, from fixed-price architectural fees for a full RIAI service to remote design support and hourly-rate input to improve an existing design. This flexibility helps make high-quality design accessible to a wider range of clients. Our Northern Ireland cost base helps us offer competitive fees while maintaining the quality of design that attracted clients to 2020 in the first place. In other words, clients are not choosing between good architecture and good value.

They can have both.

The savings can go beyond our fee

Being established on both sides of the border gives our clients another practical advantage: access to a much wider network of suppliers and specialists. Over the years we have developed relationships throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic, and in some areas the difference in pricing can be substantial.

High-end kitchens and appliances are a good example. Clients considering brands such as Wolf, Sub-Zero and Gaggenau can be making a significant investment. Through suppliers in our Northern network, they can compare competitive prices for these high-cost items and may achieve substantial savings.

And the same principle extends beyond appliances. If a consultant, specialist product or supplier on one side of the border offers a better solution for a project on the other, we can introduce them. We do not see the border as the edge of our supply chain.

One practice. One island.

Perhaps that is the simplest way to describe 2020 today.

We have roots on the north coast and a base in Roscommon, but our projects now extend across the island. That geographic reach reflects how the practice now works: one team serving clients, sites and projects across Ireland. From Antrim to Cork and Donegal to Dublin, clients come to 2020 because they connect with our architecture. They also benefit from a multi-award-winning design team, RIAI architects, PSDP accreditation, in-house planning expertise, fixed-fee options, a competitive cost base and access to suppliers on both sides of the border.

And although 2020 has designed houses as far away as America and India, this is where the practice began and where the great majority of our work remains. If you are planning a new home anywhere in Ireland and connect with our work, we would be pleased to discuss your site, ambitions and the most appropriate way to work together.