HEXAGONAL DESIGNS


Hexagonal designs Architects Choice talks to James Rooney about the multi-dimensional disaster relief shelter plans


The Hexi House project was devised by father and son team, James Rooney, an architect, James Rooney Chartered Architect Ltd, and his son Christopher, a business and law student. Together they have created a concept that not only provides shelter for those suffering at the hands of the world’s natural disasters, but a concept that evolves and accommodates to suit its needs.


W


ith a recent award of Creative Industries Innovation Funding


(CIIF) from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure (DCAL), James and Christopher are now positioned to develop the Hexi-House concept further over the coming months. Here, we talked to James about the project, how it came about and the


architectural plans for the future. Q


What was your initial inspiration for this


project? Christopher, who is a final year Business & Law student at University College Dublin, was attending an international workshop for business students in Mexico back in July 2012 and was given a project to come up with a business proposal for a low cost disaster relief shelter. Within a matter of hours I had been Skyped and asked by Christopher to suggest a few ideas as to what sort of features the house might have. After our second conversation it became easier for me to sketch something out rather than try to describe it ( you can see the first sketch if you go to Phase1 , the Design Development on our website: www.hexi-house.com) Christopher found my reference to an ‘optional veranda’ somewhat


26 | Architects Choice | ArchitectNews.co.uk


disconcerting bearing in mind Hexi-House would be aimed at disaster relief – I am afraid that switching from the design of luxury homes to disaster relief shelters was not just as simple a transition as I would have liked. As far as inspiration is concerned when Christopher asked me what shape the house should be I wanted something other than a square or rectangle and, when Northern Ireland’s World Heritage Site - The Giant’s Causeway came into my head, I suggested it should be hexagonal. Ten minutes later Christopher had come up with the name ‘Hexi-House’.


Q


Is this your first project together?


It is. Up to now the closest we have had come to working together has been the occasional performance of the odd jazz standard. Christopher is an accomplished


trombonist with a Diploma in Music from the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. Not to be entirely eclipsed by my son’s achievements however, I have taken up jazz guitar over recent years but on a somewhat slower learning trajectory.


How have your individual disciplines and skills combined together for this challenge?


Q


Despite the fact that Christopher has not quite completed his degree yet, he has already co-founded two other business ventures ‘Safetext.com and


‘Gethealthapp.com’. He has always had an entrepreneurial side to his personality. When still at school he organised a number of very successful classical concerts to raise funds for the charity Impact Romania.


My skills tend to focus on the design and detailing of high


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