tóg architecture

tóg architecture TÓG Architecture was established in 2019 by Ivor Hession with the ambition of developing a collaborative design focused practice.

New build, Co. Sligo.The brief called for a clean, minimal aesthetic, but the form comes from something much older: the ...
05/08/2026

New build, Co. Sligo.
The brief called for a clean, minimal aesthetic, but the form comes from something much older: the loose clusters of farm buildings scattered across the rural landscape here, sheds and outbuildings that grew up one at a time, never quite aligned.
We took that logic and distilled it into three clear volumes. Two gabled forms, one for the main living spaces, one for the master suite, and a monopitch holding the remaining bedrooms, snug, and circulation. Together they wrap around a south-facing courtyard, giving every room a double aspect and letting the cluster read as a quiet composition rather than a single big-footprint house.
Behind the calm render and slate, the house was completed to an A energy rating using Passive House principles throughout, cold bridging minimised at every junction, high levels of airtightness, a heat pump, and whole-house heat recovery ventilation doing the quiet work you don't see in the photos.














Sligo Town House — completed renovation & rear extension.(finally getting photographed a year or more after it was compl...
30/07/2026

Sligo Town House — completed renovation & rear extension.
(finally getting photographed a year or more after it was completed.)
This project reimagined the tight rear yard of a Sligo town house, sandwiched between the main house and an existing coach house. Rather than fight the site's constraints, the new extension takes its cue from the chaotic, ad-hoc rear extensions that have accumulated behind these terraces over generations — juxtaposed angles carving light wells into a genuinely tight footprint.
Timber frame construction, clad in black stained larch, sits quietly against the older masonry.
Inside, the kitchen sits under a large rooflight with an exposed joist ceiling — a datum that's echoed again in the new stair, where full-height studs form the enclosure and let light bleed from a roof light at the stairhead down into the circulation spaces below.
The whole house was brought up to an A energy rating using Passive House principles — proof that a highly efficient retrofit and a characterful, site-specific design aren't mutually exclusive.














Just back from Oslo with a brilliant group of architects courtesy of RSUA and honestly, what a few days.Got to tour the ...
10/06/2026

Just back from Oslo with a brilliant group of architects courtesy of RSUA and honestly, what a few days.
Got to tour the offices of and and hear them talk through their work and process. So grateful for the time they gave us - genuinely generous with their knowledge. The kind of thing that reminds you why you got into this in the first place.
The Opera House is just special. Photos don't do it. You need to walk up that marble roof under a clear blue sky to really get it (sunglasses recommended). And the Government Quarter concrete grid, I could have stood in front of that for an hour.
Good buildings, good conversations, good people, maybe one or two too many drinks. Exactly what a study trip should be.
Thanks NI for making it happen 🙌














The camera doesn't record. It interrogates.New piece on the substack this time about process, what it means to really lo...
29/05/2026

The camera doesn't record. It interrogates.
New piece on the substack this time about process, what it means to really look at a building, and why the crack in a wall will always tell you more than the wall itself.
Link in bio.









How do you know someone is an architect?Because they will tell you.A new piece on my Substack looking at what the profes...
08/05/2026

How do you know someone is an architect?
Because they will tell you.
A new piece on my Substack looking at what the profession's identity obsession is actually costing us, in fees, in public trust, and in how we're going to fare as AI strips away the mystique we've been hiding behind.
The most interesting question isn't what architects will do in the future. It's what kind of professionals we need to become.
Link in bio.














07/05/2026

Thinking about a new build, extension, or renovation?
Got ideas but not sure how far you can push them?

Ask An Architect is back.

tóg is delighted to be taking part once again in the Royal Society of Ulster Architects Ask An Architect initiative, this year supporting the Simon Community.

For a £75 donation, you’ll get a full hour with an architect to talk through your plans, possibilities, and the “is this actually doable?” questions.

Whether you’re a homeowner, developer, or business owner, these sessions are open to both domestic and commercial projects — across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

We’ve only got a handful of slots available, so if you’ve been meaning to get clarity on a project, now’s the time.

Book your session here: link in bio
https://rsua.org.uk/ask/tog-architecture/













Another Sligo project taking shape on site, with the timber frame now clearly defining the scale and intent of the new e...
05/05/2026

Another Sligo project taking shape on site, with the timber frame now clearly defining the scale and intent of the new extension.
As the structure goes up, the spatial quality of the design is starting to reveal itself—most notably at the dramatic sliding corner opening. This will frame a panoramic view out towards the coast, with Knocknarea rising in the distance and Queen Maeve’s Cairn sitting prominently at its peak.
It’s at this stage that the relationship between architecture and landscape becomes tangible—the structure not just occupying the site, but carefully orientated to capture and celebrate its setting.
With the timber frame in place, the project is beginning to move from concept to lived experience, where light, views and form all start to align.














Thinking about a new build, extension, or renovation?Got ideas but not sure how far you can push them?Ask An Architect i...
30/04/2026

Thinking about a new build, extension, or renovation?
Got ideas but not sure how far you can push them?

Ask An Architect is back.

tóg is delighted to be taking part once again in the Royal Society of Ulster Architects Ask An Architect initiative, this year supporting the Simon Community.

For a £75 donation, you’ll get a full hour with an architect to talk through your plans, possibilities, and the “is this actually doable?” questions.

Whether you’re a homeowner, developer, or business owner, these sessions are open to both domestic and commercial projects — across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

We’ve only got a handful of slots available, so if you’ve been meaning to get clarity on a project, now’s the time.

Book your session here: link in bio
https://rsua.org.uk/ask/tog-architecture/













Great to see this project in Sligo beginning to take real shape on site—made all the better by some much-needed west coa...
30/04/2026

Great to see this project in Sligo beginning to take real shape on site—made all the better by some much-needed west coast sunshine.
The natural slate roof is starting to define the form, sitting sharply against the blue sky and giving a strong sense of the finished character of the building. As the volumes come together, the relationship between the original structure and the new additions is becoming clear, along with the impressive views the house is positioned to capture.
A particularly meaningful element is the reinstated stone wall, now incorporating a commemorative plaque to Dermot Healy, the previous owner and a celebrated Irish novelist, playwright and poet. It’s an important gesture that ties the project back to its cultural and personal history.
The new interventions will be expressed through carefully selected charred timber cladding, providing a subtle but distinct contrast to the existing stone—rooted in tradition, but clearly contemporary.
Progress on site like this is always a milestone—when the design starts to move from drawings into something tangible and grounded in its landscape.














Still in Japan. Still touching walls.Same trip, different orientation — this time looking up and across rather than down...
28/04/2026

Still in Japan. Still touching walls.
Same trip, different orientation — this time looking up and across rather than down.
Weathered sugi cladding going silver at the grain. Yakisugi so deeply charred it crackles under your fingers. Fine aggregate render in that particular warm buff you only seem to find here. Fluted precast concrete, the ribs barely wider than a finger. Board-formed fair-face with tie holes left honest. Dark steel panels patinating quietly on a back street.
Japan has a material vocabulary that earns its restraint. Nothing performing. Everything considered.
For the wall nerds this time. 🙏












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